A young football fan has had a moment she will remember for the rest of her life after meeting Cristiano Ronaldo before being gifted his game-worn jersey.
An 11-year-old girl named Addison scored a piece of football memorabilia this morning when she jumped the Dublin Stadium barrier to meet Ronaldo.
Ronaldo was representing Portugal, who drew 0-0 with Ireland as part of the World Cup qualifiers.
The football superstar is no stranger to pitch invaders, and before Addison had her moment, Ronaldo had already been forced to avoid a fan who made his way onto the field during the match.
But it was Addison’s moment that won the hearts of football fans across social media.
And while she’s now the owner of a prized piece of Ronaldo memorabilia that would attract some serious buyers, she was told she would be hit with a $4500 fine before it was wiped away.
https://twitter.com/BigRedBench/status/1459206327872462852https://twitter.com/brfootball/status/1458922204767342601
Addison had dodged multiple security guards and broke Dublin Stadium by running out onto the pitch.
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“I was fined for running onto the pitch. My dad’s going to pay it,” she was quoted saying on local radio after the match.
“I jumped over the barrier because I was in the second row. I jumped over the first row and over the barrier.
“Then I sprinted onto the pitch, but there were security guards running behind me and there was another two coming from the other corner so I just kept sprinting.
“When I saw the other two coming from the other corner I ran more towards the halfway line so then I could swerve around them, but then they caught me.
“Then I was just screaming Ronaldo’s name. He turned around and he saw me and he was telling them to leave me.
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“So then I was calling him over. He came over to me. I was just in shock and crying and I was like, ‘Can I have your jersey? Please, please. I’m a big, huge fan’. He was saying, ‘Are you okay?'”
The draw leaves Portugal ahead of Serbia on goal difference ahead of their decisive match on Sunday in Portugal.
Both teams are tied on 17 points but Portugal has scored three more goals than the Serbians.
Only the group winners automatically qualify for next year’s tournament in Qatar, while the second-place finishers will have to go through a playoff with the other runners-up and two group winners from the UEFA Nations League.
– with AP
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