Iran fans disturb Portugal players' sleep, Cristiano Ronaldo comes to the rescue

Hundreds of Iranian fans surrounded the hotel where Portugal's national football team was putting up and made a racket for several hours overnight in an attempt to disrupt their opponents' sleep before the decisive FIFA World Cup Group B fixture.

Cristiano Ronaldo was filmed by Portuguese TV RTP late at night by the window, making gestures to ask the Iranian fans to be silent.

The only way for Iran to proceed to the round of 16 was to beat the European champions. But that didn’t happen as the match in Saransk, where Ronaldo missed a hat-trick, ended in a 1-1 draw.

Saransk police said they received their first calls about the noise around 11pm on Sunday when the first wave of Iran fans arrived and started singing outside the hotel. That forced Ronaldo to show up at his window, which convinced supporters to leave.

Then a second wave arrived and didn't stop making noise for several hours. Police then blocked roads nearby, but the main avenue across the hotel was still open, which allowed Iran fans to keep up their efforts in smaller numbers.

In the round of 16, Portugal now face Uruguay on June 30, which will obviously put Ronaldo and his men to the test.

(With inputs from AP)

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