Iranian Embassy issues fresh update on Cristiano Ronaldo’s alleged punishment of ‘99 lashes’

Ronaldo is the only player in history to qualify for six UEFA European Championships.

Iranian Embassy issues fresh update on Cristiano Ronaldo’s alleged punishment of ‘99 lashes’

(L-R) Cristiano Ronaldo, Fatemeh Hamami. (Source: via Instagram/@cristiano and @fatemehamami)

The claim that Cristiano Ronaldo faced a ’99 lashes’ punishment for hugging Iranian artist Fatemeh Hamami has been officially debunked by the Iranian Embassy in Madrid. Authorities have stated there is no legal action or penalty from the Iranian government against the Portuguese player.

During Ronaldo’s visit to Iran for the AFC Champions League, he met artist Fatemeh Hamami, who paints with her feet due to 85% paralysis. While receiving portraits from her, Ronaldo warmly put his arm around her for a picture. Though Iranian media outlet ‘Sharq Emroz’ reported that some Iranian lawyers called for legal action due to the embrace, there is no evidence of any such punishment being imposed by the Iranian judiciary.

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Since then the Iranian Embassy has put an end to such rumors of Cristiano Ronaldo being prosecuted by the Government in Iran. “We strongly deny the issuance of any sentence against any international athlete in Iran,” a statement read out.

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Further, they said reaffirming the public, “His[Cristiano] sincere and humane meeting with Fatemeh Hamami was also praised and admired by both the people and the country’s sports authorities.”

Cristiano Ronaldo remained clearly unaffected by the rumors that were in play as the Portuguese International scored a brace against Slovakia in Portugal’s UEFA Euro Qualifying campaign.

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s visit to Tehran caused streets to be shut down

The Portuguese International’s presence caused a massive uproar in the streets of Tehran as Al-Nassr had to come to face Persepolis F.C. as part of the AFC Champions League. For the fans, this could be the only opportunity to not only get a glimpse of the player but also to take a photo of him due to no spectators being allowed during the game itself.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo (Source: via AFP and Goal)

Al-Nassr’s game against Persepolis F.C. was played behind closed doors due to a social media post about India, causing a one-match ban for the Iranian club. Thus, the 78,000-capacity Azadi Stadium was left empty. 

The only condition for Ronaldo to visit Iran now would be to draw Sepahan S.C in the knockout stages of the competition, a stage which the club has not reached since 2012.

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