Soccer

Portugal boss Roberto Martinez voices worry over pitch invaders seeking selfies

Martinez said his players were fortunate those who burst onto the pitch were not looking to cause harm.

The game was interrupted several times with pitch invaders
The game was interrupted several times with pitch invaders (Nick Potts/PA)
By PA Sport Staff

Portugal boss Roberto Martinez expressed his concern after fans repeatedly ran onto the pitch seeking selfies with Cristiano Ronaldo during Saturday’s 3-0 Euro 2024 victory over Turkey in Dortmund.

The first incident saw Ronaldo share a hug before posing for a photograph with a young boy who had burst onto the field of play, which led to other fans also trying their luck.

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward became more fed up with each pitch invader as the game was stopped multiple times in the second half.

Martinez acknowledged his players were fortunate that the supporters were not looking to cause harm, but insisted it should not be so easy for spectators to get on the pitch.

A young boy was the first to burst onto the field, paving the way for others to copy
A young boy was the first to burst onto the field, paving the way for others to copy (Nick Potts/PA)

“It is a concern because today we were lucky that the intentions of the fans were good,” he told a press conference. “We all love fans who recognise the big stars and the big icons in their lives.

“You can understand there is a very difficult moment if those intentions are wrong the players are exposed and we need to be careful.

“I don’t think it should happen on a football pitch. There is a lot of security and a lot of protection and I don’t think that should happen and we should probably give a message to the fans that it is not the right way.

“You are not going to get anything out of it and probably the measures get worse for the future and it’s not good to get the players so exposed when you’re running on the pitch.”

UEFA on Sunday vowed to increase security at venues in a bid to prevent future incidents.

Ronaldo’s patience grew thinner with each pitch invader
Ronaldo’s patience grew thinner with each pitch invader (Nick Potts/PA)

It said in a statement to Sky News: “Safety and security in the stadium, on the pitch and at team facilities are the ultimate priority for UEFA, DFB and EURO 2024 GmbH.

“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.

“As a reminder, 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.”

Portugal confirmed their qualification to the knockout stages with a game to spare with victory over Turkey following strikes from Premier League pair Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes sandwiched between a bizarre own goal from Samet Akaydin.