Fan jumps towards Ronaldo from the stands with his leg outstretched
Sportingly frustrated, Cristiano Ronaldo makes his way to the dressing room after Portugal's embarrassing 0:2 loss to Georgia in the European Championship - but suddenly a fan from the stands jumps towards him. Security managed to prevent the man just in time. It's not the first time Ronaldo has had a fan rush incident.
With a leap from the stands towards superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, a fan caused quite a scare at the European Championship football match. After Portugal's humiliating 0:2 defeat against the surprise team Georgia, Ronaldo was making his way from the pitch towards the player tunnel, when suddenly a fan with an outstretched leg lunged at him. It would have likely resulted in a collision, had not a steward managed to intervene with full body contact.
The 39-year-old Ronaldo reacted with surprised and incomprehension to the situation, standing still for a moment. He had already experienced such fan incidents during the EM more frequently. A selfie with the former world footballer had been the goal of several so-called rushers. A picture of a small boy who had managed to evade the stewards and reach his idol on the pitch during the game against Turkey was circulating around the football world. Ronaldo remained cool during the scene in the match against Turkey, a big moment. But he was more agitated when five more rushers approached him.
The fan hunt for selfies became increasingly criticized after the second group stage match. "That concerns me naturally," said national coach Roberto Martinez. In his opinion, this should not happen. The fans' intentions were "good, we love the fans, they have their stars and idols," Martinez emphasized: "But when these intentions go wrong, one must be careful." There is "a lot of security and protection," but one must try "to keep people away from the pitch." Portugal's coach sent a message to the fans: "That's not the right way. You're only making it harder for yourselves in the future."
"It's a bit annoying when the game is constantly interrupted for that reason," said teammate Bernardo Silva. "But that's probably the price you have to pay when you're that recognized in the world of football." He was, however, "not really worried. I don't sense any danger." The police had already had to remove 13 rushers from the training pitch of the Portuguese team before the tournament began in Gütersloh.
During the chaotic scenes at the European Championship football match, a fan's attempt to rush Cristiano Ronaldo was met by a steward's intervention, recalling similar incidents in previous European Football Championship games, where Ronaldo was the target. Despite the recurring fan rush incidences, Ronaldo is set to compete in the European Football Championship 2024, making him a notable contender in the tournament.
