Cristiano Ronaldo narrowly avoided being knocked down by a fan who jumped through the crowd to get close to the Portuguese star following their 2-0 defeat to Georgia at the European Championship on Wednesday.
A video widely circulated on social media shows someone jumping over the player tunnel at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen as Ronaldo leaves the field.
A waiter rushed to protect the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star and other security personnel ran towards the fan, who disappeared from sight.
Ronaldo, looking bewildered, stopped but appeared unharmed.
The Portuguese Football Federation confirmed the incident but did not comment. European football's governing body UEFA said it was aware of the incident.
The Gelsenkirchen police said the matter was not part of their responsibility.
During Portugal's previous match against Turkey on Saturday in Dortmund, he was confronted on the pitch by four invaders who wanted to take selfies.
Ronaldo stopped a young fan who evaded stewards to enter the field in the 69th minute, but appeared frustrated when more fans approached him later in the match and after the final whistle.
Portugal coach Roberto Martínez said after that match that the Al Nassr striker was lucky not to have been injured and expressed concern for his safety.
“We all love a fan who recognizes the big stars and the big icons in their minds,” Martinez said. “But you can understand that it was a very, very difficult moment. If those intentions are wrong, the players are exposed and we have to be careful with that.”
UEFA has said safety at the stadium is the “top priority” and that additional security measures would be put in place to prevent selfie-seeking fans from entering the pitch.
Despite the shock loss to Georgia, Portugal advanced to the knockout stage of Euro 2024 and will play Slovenia in the round of 16 in Frankfurt on Monday.
