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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Jamie Braidwood

Cristiano Ronaldo mobbed by selfie-hunting pitch invaders in major Euro 2024 security breach

Getty Images

Five fans were able to reach Cristiano 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.

Ronaldo welcomed the young fan and was happy to pose for a picture (Getty Images)
The young supporter was escorted away by security moments later (Getty Images)
But the next pitch invader managed to reach Ronaldo and grabbed him (Getty Images)
Ronaldo became frustrated as more fans wre abel to make it onto the pitch (Getty Images)
One fan reached Ronaldo at a corner as chaotic scenes marred the end of the game (Getty Images)
Ronaldo waves his arms as security failed to deal with the situation (Getty Images)

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.

Portugal kept dominating and extended their lead after substitute Ruben Neves set Ronaldo free with a long ball to beat the offside line and, after drawing in the goalkeeper, squared the ball for Fernandes who only had to tap it into an empty goal.

The win lifts Portugal to a guaranteed first place in Group F on six points, three ahead Turkey in second and five ahead of Georgia and Czech Republic with one game to go.

Includes reporting from Reuters

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