DÜSSELDORF, Germany — Cristiano Ronaldo narrowly avoided being hit by a fan who jumped from the stands to get to the soccer star. Portugal played against Georgia At the European Championships on Wednesday.
A video widely circulated on social media appears to show someone jumping from the top of the players’ walkway at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen as Ronaldo was heading to the dressing room.
Security personnel rushed to protect the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star, while other security personnel ran towards the fan, who then ran away until he was out of sight.
A confused-looking Ronaldo stands there but appears unharmed. Portugal loses 2-0.
The Portuguese Football Federation confirmed the incident but declined to comment, while European football’s governing body UEFA said it was aware of it.
Ronaldo is one of the most recognizable sports icons in the world with a huge fan base that includes 632 million followers on Instagram and around 112 million on X.
On Saturday, he played in Portugal’s match against Turkey in Dortmund. Four supporters facing each other on the field People who want to take selfies.
Ronaldo took a selfie with a young fan who had evaded security and entered the pitch in the 69th minute, but appeared annoyed as more fans entered the pitch in the second half and after the final whistle.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said after the match that the Al Nasr forward was lucky not to be injured and expressed concern for his safety.
“We all love our fans, who recognise the big stars and the big players in their hearts,” he said, “but I understand it was a very difficult moment. If the intention is wrong, the players are at risk, so we need to be careful about that.”
The 39-year-old became the first player to play in six European Championships and, although he is yet to score in this year’s tournament, he remains the all-time leading scorer at the Euros with 14 goals.
Portugal are through to the knockout stages of Euro 2024 despite a shock defeat to Georgia and will face Slovenia in the first round in Frankfurt on Monday.
