Cristiano Ronaldo narrowly avoided serious injury after a fan jumped from the stands and landed in front of him following Portugal’s Euro 2024 loss to Georgia.
Portugal were already through to the knockouts before taking on Georgia in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday night.
In spite of this, Roberto Martinez started Ronaldo but the legendary forward could not prevent his side from slipping to a shock 2-0 defeat.
Ronaldo himself could not hide his frustration upon being subbed off in the 66th minute, with Euro 2024 now the first major tournament he has failed to score in the group stage of.
But remarkably, that wasn’t the most shocking moment of the 39-year-old’s night.
As the Manchester United and Real Madrid legend went to head down the tunnel after full-time, a supporter jumped from the stands and crash landed right in front of the Portugal captain.
He would have landed directly on top of Ronaldo if not for the quick and brave reactions of a steward who threw himself in front of the player to keep him out of harms way.
Ronaldo was left visibly stunned by the terrifying incident but was uninjured, though it is not known what happened to the fan in question.
The incident will also raise more questions about the security at the Euros, especially in regards to Ronaldo after Portugal’s win over Turkey was repeatedly halted because of pitch invaders.
A young fan asking for a selfie with CR7 was the first of at least six supporters who ran onto the field of play in the hopes of getting close to their hero, with Ronaldo growing increasingly irate.
‘It’s a concern because today we were lucky that the intentions of the fans were good,’ Martinez said after the Turkey match.
‘I think we all love a fan that recognises that big star and the big icons, but you can understand that there is a very, very difficult moment if those intentions are wrong.’
The manager later added: ‘Cristiano is an experienced player, having spent more than 20 years in the national team.
‘He knows the meaning of support very well, not only from fans of the national team, but also from football fans. Intrusions are dangerous and not good for the image of football, they are not part of the game we want to see.’
All involved will be hoping this is the end of fan intrusions, with Portugal set to play Slovenia in the last 16 on Monday, July 1 at 8pm.
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