Euro 2024 security under scrutiny after pitch invasions
Security during Euro 2024 still leaves much to be desired. Once again, during Portugal's match, one of the fans did everything to get to Cristiano Ronaldo and take a picture with him. A tragedy was narrowly avoided.
27 June 2024 07:31
The competition at the Euro 2024 venues evokes immense emotions from fans all over our continent, especially from those who can watch their teams' struggles straight from the stands. However, there are instances when fans' behaviour gets out of control, somewhat tarnishing the overall picture of the football celebration.
An ideal example is the events during Saturday's match between Portugal and Turkey. At one point, a young boy ran onto the stadium's field in Dortmund, wanting to take a picture with Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese forward reacted to the situation with a smile and posed for a photo together. The young fan's bravery was rewarded with applause from the stands.
Unfortunately, another fan followed in his footsteps. Fifteen minutes later, an adult man ran onto the field. He was not as fortunate and was quickly caught by security. Additionally, this time, Ronaldo reacted quite differently and was visibly disgusted.
Another incident occurred during the match between Portugal and Georgia. As Ronaldo was heading to the locker room, a fan tried to jump onto the field, nearly knocking down the 39-year-old forward.
Fortunately, the security reacted in time, shielding the Portuguese star with their bodies.
Embarrassing defeat for Portugal. Ronaldo's class
The last match of the group stage did not go well for Cristiano Ronaldo. The captain of the Portuguese national team was not as visible, did not create many scoring opportunities, and did not take shots. Additionally, he received a yellow card for protesting the non-awarding of a penalty. No wonder he was substituted in the 66th minute, and Goncalo Ramos took his place.
The 39-year-old was frustrated that evening. However, after the match, he kept his word given to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and met with the Georgians in the locker rooms, exchanged a few words, and gave him his game jersey. This is a great honour for the 23-year-old Napoli star.