UEFA have indicated that the minor who ran onto the field and took a selfie with Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday will be banned from all subsequent matches at Euro 2024.
The incident occurred during Portugal’s 3-0 win over Turkey at Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion. A young boy wearing a red top made his way to the centre circle, pulled out his phone and snapped the photo as a smiling Ronaldo crouched down to get in the frame.
The youngster then sprinted off to evade stewards but he was caught and led out of the stadium. The picture was posted to social media after the game and quickly went viral.
While it has warmed the hearts of many, UEFA have stated that pitch invading will result in a heavy punishment. Usually it would also see the culprit slapped with a criminal complaint, but given the child’s age, it will not be pursued in this specific case.
A statement made to Express Sport read: “Any incursion onto the pitch constitutes a breach of the stadium rules and will result in expulsion from the stadium, a ban from all tournament matches and the filing of a formal criminal complaint for trespass.
“There is no criminal responsibility for under-12s, however the accompanying adult remains responsible for ensuring that child adheres to the stadium rules in accordance with the ticketing terms and conditions.”
A total of five fans managed to make it onto the pitch during the second half alone on Saturday. All of them risked punishment to try and get a picture with Ronaldo, who grew increasingly frustrated with each incident.
Portugal manager Roberto Martinez aired concerns after the game about how ‘exposed’ it leaves his players to anyone who may break out of the stands with malicious intentions. And UEFA have subsequently pledged to beef up their security measures.
“Safety and security in the stadium, on the pitch and at team facilities are the ultimate priority for UEFA, DFB and EURO 2024 GmbH,” European football’s governing body continued.
“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. For reasons of security, we cannot comment further on specific measures.”
