DORTMUND, Germany — UEFA will increase security during the rest of Euro 2024 after several pitch invaders attempted to take selfies with Portugal’s star striker Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 39-year-old forward posed for a photo with a young boy during the 3-0 win over Turkey in Group F Saturday in Dortmund, but grew exasperated as at least five more fans attempted to do the same.
“Safety and security in the stadium, on the pitch and at team facilities are the ultimate priority for UEFA,” the European football governing body told AFP.
“To this end, additional safety measures will be deployed in the stadiums to further meet the requirements of the tournament, and to prevent such incidents.”
One security guard crashed into Paris Saint-Germain striker Goncalo Ramos while trying to stop a pitch invader reaching Ronaldo.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said it was lucky that the supporters who ran on to the pitch were only trying to take photographs.
“It is a concern because we were lucky that the intentions of the fans were good,” said Martinez.
“It is a very difficult moment if those intentions are wrong… probably we should give a message to the fans that it is not the right way.”
UEFA said any spectators entering the field of play will be thrown out of the stadium, be banned for further matches and face “the filing of a formal criminal complaint for trespass”.
Portugal qualified for the last 16 with their comfortable win over Turkey as Group F winners.
Five fans were able to reach Ronaldo and attempt to take selfies with him after invading the pitch as a major security breach marred the end of Portugal’s win over Turkey at Euro 2024.
A young fan was the first to evade stewards in the 69th minute of the Group F match at the Westfalenstadion, with Ronaldo happy to pose for a selfie before the youngster was escorted away by security.
But it led to several further attempts during the game and one at full-time; with Ronaldo becoming increasingly frustrated with the security lapses at the Euro 2024 fixture.
The second supporter, an older fan who invaded the pitch 15 minutes after the first incident, seemed to grab Ronaldo by the neck as he failed in his attempt to get a selfie with the Portugal star.
Ronaldo turned his back on the fan, who held onto the 39-year-old after security finally reached him and pulled him away from the forward before being taken away from the field.
There were two more incidents before the full-time whistle and one shortly after, with Ronaldo ushering one of the supporters away as stadium security failed to stop fans from entering the pitch.
Portugal cruised to a 3-0 win against Turkey and booked their spot in the Euro 2024 last 16 as Group F winners thanks to a Bernardo Silva strike, an own-goal by Samet Akaydin and a Bruno Fernandes tap-in.
Silva scored his first goal in a major international tournament in the 21st minute when a cross from Nuno Mendes deflected off a Turkish defender to find the Manchester City forward ghosting alone in the area, who then smashed it past the goalkeeper to put the Portuguese ahead.
Seven minutes later, Turkish defender Akaydin made a comical mistake as he tried to play the ball back to his goalkeeper who was out of position and there was nothing he could to stop it from rolling into the net despite their desperate attempts to keep it out.