Friday, September 20, 2024

Roberto Martinez questions Uefa security after Cristiano Ronaldo approached by six pitch invaders

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The second pitch invader, an older fan who invaded the field 15 minutes after the initial incident, appeared to grab Ronaldo by the neck before being peeled off the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star by a steward.

European football’s governing body are now due to probe the major security breach as Martinez hit out at the situation. Uefa’s disciplinary body will await reports from the referee and match delegates before deciding on any action.

“It is a concern because today we were lucky that the intentions of the fans were good,” the Belgium coach said. “I think we all love a fan that recognises the big stars and the big icons in their minds, we all agree with that.

“But you can understand it was a very, very difficult moment – if those intentions are wrong, the players are exposed and we need to be careful with that.

“I don’t think that 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 probably we should give a message to the fans: ‘It’s not the right way, you’re not going to get anything out of it.’

“And what you do, probably the measures get worse for the future. It’s not good to get the players so exposed when you have people running on the pitch.”

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