Football star Cristiano Ronaldo has melted the hearts of netizens, but this time not with a brilliant performance on the pitch, but by displaying social responsibility. Due to an infection in his toe the 35-year-old had to miss the game against Croatia and was rooting for his national team sitting in the stands.
However, unlike other players in the stands, Ronaldo wasn't wearing a mask, which drew the attention of a steward who reprimanded the star as if saying: "you may be a billionaire, you may be one of the best players in the history of football, but rules are rules".
Ronaldo forgot to wear his mask in the stands tonight and one brave lady wasn't having it 😷 😅
— Keith Ving (@Merovingian1983) September 7, 2020
🎥: @Esp_Interativopic.twitter.com/IdHOZvdfK9
The video instantly went viral and received a torrent of comments. While some users criticised Ronaldo…
By the looks of people around him, the rules/ requirements are pretty obvious. Very irresponsible of him to not wear it in the first place.
— Shree💙 (@optimystiqq) September 6, 2020
…Others praised him for humbly following the rules.
I like how he masked up without questions 👍
— Sello Somo (@Maphuti06673784) September 5, 2020
Pure class, puts on the mask and doesn’t complain or cry like they do in Murica.
— Regad (@edgarnicus) September 5, 2020
One user assumed that Ronaldo will change the way some people behave during the coronavirus pandemic.
When people watch this and see that a person like Ronaldo doesn't complain about putting on a mask they will stop complaining and start using masks
— Swarik28 (@swarik28) September 5, 2020
Other users lauded the female steward for reprimanding the athlete.
Bravo lady not even the great Christian Ronaldo is above wearing a mask
— natalie burgio (@Cubby9521) September 6, 2020
Some users, however, contended that safety precautions are useless in contact sports like football.
And these players train together, are in the locker rooms hugging and hi5ving and they all get tested more often than i eat my veggies. It doesn't make sense for that group to wear masks around each other.
— Emmanuel T (@loveliveslight) September 7, 2020
I've often laughed at their rules. Players on the pitch who are in close contact (touching other players) don't need a mask, but players socially distancing on the bench need one?
— Brian Campbell (@FarewellRabbit) September 6, 2020
Then in the event their is a trophy celebration, everyone can go on the pitch and no masks needed.
Fans even managed to turn this topic into which player is better.
Messi would've been wearing a mask.
— 👑🐐🇦🇷⚽🏃 #Messi10 #ARG (@coze1challenge1) September 6, 2020
If it was messi,he could have complained 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
— Ben (@ben10_Ke) September 6, 2020
