The fan was removed immediately
A fan was escorted out of the Al Thumama Stadium during Portugal’s game against Morocco for throwing water at Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo started on the bench for a second successive game after he was dropped for their round of 16 win against Switzerland.
The 37-year-old was told by manager Fernando Santos in the build up to the 6-1 win that he was dropped for tactical reasons however the pair have now settled their differences.
But as the forward was walking back towards the subs bench at half time, a fan proceeded to throw water at the former Manchester United man.
Security quickly intervened and grabbed the fan before removing him from the stadium with immediate effect.
Angry fan escorted out for throwing water on Ronaldo. Not difficult to show some respect. Good result. pic.twitter.com/HHVLv051Y4
— Adriano Del Monte (@adriandelmonte) December 10, 2022
There were plenty of empty seats at the Al Thumama Stadium as ITV commentator Jon Champion highlighted the lack of fans in attendance.
It was later reported that some supporters had struggled to enter the ground due to a number of ticketless fans trying to get access to the stadium.
Other reports suggested that the ticketless fans had blocked the path for those trying to get in and watch the game, with riot police deployed to try and calm the issues.
Morocco continued to make history as they became the first African team to reach the semi finals of the World Cup after winning 1-0.
Walid Regragui’s men took a surprise first half lead as Youssef En-Nesyri rose highest to head home past Diogo Costa in front of thousands of their supporters and despite going down to 10 men in stoppage time, held on for another famous win.
Related links:
- World Cup 2022 Day 21: All the major action and talking points
- Roy Keane and Gary Neville reignite argument about Cristiano Ronaldo
- Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister blasts Portugal boss’ decision to start forward on the bench
