MOSCOW, September 18 – A crowd of Iranian football fans burst into a hotel in Tehran in the hope of seeing Saudi Al-Nasr striker Cristiano Ronaldo, reports tarafdari.

On Monday, Ronaldo arrived in Tehran with Al-Nasr for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League match against local club Persepolis. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, beginning at 21:00 Moscow time.

On Monday, several dozen fans gathered outside the hotel where Ronaldo was staying and then forced their way into the hotel lobby, where they began chanting the Portuguese’s name. Earlier, fans escorted a bus carrying Al-Nasr players from the airport, and the road to the hotel was decorated with welcome banners.

As France Press notes, Al-Nasr players in Tehran are under the protection of an “elite unit”, which includes law enforcement officers specializing in presidential trips. They are tasked with preventing any contact between fans and players of the Saudi team.

Iranian fans will not be able to attend the match itself, which will take place at the country’s largest stadium, Azadi Stadium, which has a capacity of 90 thousand spectators. This is due to the sanctions imposed by the Asian Football Confederation after the publication of a controversial message on the Persepolis Instagram page in 2021 (the activities of Meta (social networks Facebook and Instagram) are prohibited in Russia as extremist).