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Cristiano Ronaldo narrowly escaped being hit by a fan who jumped out of the crowd to approach the Portugal star after a 2-0 defeat to Georgia in the European Football Championship on Wednesday.
A video widely circulated on social media shows a person jumping over the top of the players’ tunnel at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, as Ronaldo exits the pitch.
A security guard rushed to protect the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star, while other security personnel rushed towards the fan, who had fallen out of sight.
Ronaldo stopped, looking confused, but apparently unharmed.
The Portuguese Football Federation confirmed the incident but did not comment. UEFA said it was aware of the incident.
Gelsenkirchen police said it was not their responsibility.
During Portugal’s previous match against Turkey in Dortmund on Saturday, he was confronted on the pitch by four pitch invaders who wanted to take selfies.
Ronaldo stopped in front of a young fan who evaded the observers and entered the field in the 69th minute, but he appeared frustrated when a larger number of fans approached him later in the match and after the final whistle.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said after the match that the Al Nassr striker was lucky not to be hurt and raised concerns about his safety.
“We all love fans who remember big stars and big icons in their minds. But you can understand that this was a very difficult moment. If these intentions are wrong, the players are at risk and we have to be careful about this,” Martinez said.
UEFA said safety and security at the stadium were the “absolute priority” and that additional safety measures would be deployed to prevent fans looking for selfies from entering the stadium.
Despite the shock loss to Georgia, Portugal have qualified for the knockout stage of Euro 2024 and will face Slovenia in the last 16 in Frankfurt on Monday.
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