{"id":291566,"date":"2023-09-18T15:35:46","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T15:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?p=291566"},"modified":"2023-09-18T15:35:46","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T15:35:46","slug":"cristiano-ronaldo-receives-a-crazy-welcome-in-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/soccer\/cristiano-ronaldo-receives-a-crazy-welcome-in-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"Cristiano Ronaldo receives a crazy welcome in Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"
Cristiano Ronaldo has been greeted by extraordinary scenes in Iran with hundreds of fans chasing the Al-Nassr bus and then storming the team’s hotel to catch a glimpse of him.<\/p>\n
The Saudi Arabian club are set to play Tehran-based side Persepolis in their opening AFC Champions League group stage fixture on Tuesday night and they’ve had quite the welcome.<\/p>\n
Videos released on Al-Nassr’s X feed showed fans running down the road in pursuit of their yellow team coach as excitement ahead of the fixture reaches fever pitch.<\/p>\n
Fans young and old were spotted holding up Ronaldo posters and wearing Ronaldo shirts as the Portuguese superstar prepares to play in the Iranian capital.<\/p>\n
In other social media videos, hundreds of local fans could be seen rushing inside the lobby of the hotel where Al-Nassr are staying while chanting ‘Ronaldo, Ronaldo’.<\/p>\n
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Hundreds of excited fans chased the Al-Nassr team bus as they tried to catch a glimpse of star Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the Saudi club’s Asian Champions League game with Persepolis<\/p>\n
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Videos posted on social media by Al-Nassr showed the extraordinary welcome in Tehran<\/p>\n
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Sporting sunglasses and clasping some roses, Ronaldo makes his arrival at Tehran Airport<\/p>\n
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The Portuguese star looked delighted to receive a Persian rug from Persepolis as a present<\/p>\n
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Ronaldo was seen smiling as he was escorted up to his room at the Espinas Palace Tehran by security guards followed by the remainder of the Al-Nassr squad and their staff.<\/p>\n
An entire floor has been set aside for the Al-Nassr party with a suite reserved for Ronaldo.<\/p>\n
In a slightly less chaotic moment, Ronaldo was presented with a traditional Persian rug shortly after touching down at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport and looked thrilled with the gift.<\/p>\n
Another present to the Al-Nassr party will come in the form of special SIM cards which will allow them to access the internet without restrictions during their stay.<\/p>\n
This is something Iranian citizens cannot do with thousands of websites and all global messaging services and social media blocked.<\/p>\n
Tuesday’s match at the 78,000-capacity Aazdi Stadium does come with some regrets for the locals, however, because it will be played behind closed doors.<\/p>\n
This relates to a one-match stadium ban handed down to Persepolis for a social media post ahead of their match with Indian club FC Goa during the 2021-22 season.<\/p>\n
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Hundreds of fans stormed the lobby of the hotel where Cristiano Ronaldo is staying<\/p>\n
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Fans chanted ‘Ronaldo, Ronaldo’ as they strained to catch a glimpse of their hero<\/p>\n
The now deleted post cited Iran’s invasion of India (in 1738-1740) and historic battles between the two countries to spur their team on ahead of the group stage meetings with Goa.<\/p>\n
The message offended people in India and their football association formally lodged a complaint with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which handed Persepolis the ban.<\/p>\n
They didn’t play in continental competitions last season, so the ban will now be served – as their bad luck would have it – for the visit of Al-Nassr and Ronaldo.<\/p>\n
In recent days, Persepolis fans have been commenting with apologies on FC Goa Instagram posts in a bid to get the ban overturned at the last minute.<\/p>\n
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Ronaldo talks to Persepolis officials as he is presented with a traditional carpet as a present<\/p>\n
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Ronaldo takes a look at his welcome present after touching down in Tehran on Monday<\/p>\n
But as it stands, the match will be played with no spectators in attendance, which may explain the crazy scenes when Al-Nassr arrived.<\/p>\n
Al-Nassr are the first Saudi club to visit Iran in seven years. Tensions have often been high between the two countries but a deal brokered by China in March restored ties.<\/p>\n
It comes as five American prisoners sought by the United States flew out of Tehran on Monday as part of a deal that saw nearly $6billion [\u00a34.85bn] in Iranian assets unfrozen.<\/p>\n
Despite the deal, tensions between the two countries remain high amid various disputes, including over Tehran’s nuclear programme.<\/p>\n
It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n