But this was no ordinary hug. The hug seemed to last an eternity and it was in full public view of the cameramen from all over assembled at the stadium and the rest of the almost 70,000-strong crowd.

The fan in question, a college student, was subsequently jailed for a day as a result of his hug on Ronaldo and will go to trial this coming Monday on charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct.

In an attempt to save this fan from any further punishment, Ronaldo is said to have made a plea in the form of a letter to the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office, reports The Miami Herald.

“My name is Cristiano Ronaldo, and I play football (soccer) for Real Madrid,” begins the letter, a copy of which has been obtained by the Miami Herald.

“I was playing at Sun Life Stadium last month when a fan entered the field. His name is Ronald Gjoka, a young college student. We hugged, and we spoke for a while, until security arrived to escort him off the field. He was not aggressive or violent in ANY way. In addition, he did not resist security or police in any possible way …

“I am concerned because I understand he may face potential problems with Immigration and with his college if the criminal charges against him are not dismissed … I understand your position and the importance of enforcing rules and laws. However, I respectfully request that you and your office reconsider this decision and dismiss the two criminal charges this young man faces.”

It is signed, “Sincerely, Cristiano Ronaldo.”

The fan is a 19-year old college student by the name of Ronald Gjoka, a native of Albania and Canadian citizen, who currently attends Palm Beach State Community College.

The letter is said to have been received from Ronaldo’s attorneys in Portugal in both electronic form as well as a physical copy through mail. Gjoka’s attorney, Richard Hujber of Boynton Beach, had reportedly contacted a Portuguese law firm Morais Leitao, Galvao Telex, Soares da Silva within a few weeks of the incident in an attempt to try and salvage his client’s situation.

A lawyer from the firm by the name of Paulo Rendeiro is said to have gotten back to Hujber and also simultaneously apprised Ronaldo and his representatives of the situation. That set the ball rolling for efforts to get underway to try and rescue Gjoka.

After being arrested, Gjoka was sent to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Doral, where he spent a day and a half. His representative Hujber said that Gjoka had realised that he’d made a mistake, but hoped that the letter from Ronaldo would persuade stadium officials to have some mercy on Gjoka.

“I’m hoping the stadium officials will decide to dismiss these charges because the kid has no prior record, was not drunk or high, was not violent in any way,” Hujber said. “It was stupid what he did, but he’s a really bright kid, and I would hate for these low-level misdemeanours to affect his academic future or perhaps his immigration status. Ever since [the Sept.?11, 2001 terrorist attacks], student visa holders are scrutinized much more closely, and in this case, he is just a huge soccer fan who made a mistake.”

A spokesman for the state attorney’s office, Ed Griffith, said that although the Ronaldo letter was “very, very nice,” it would have no bearing on the case as Ronaldo was not the one pressing charges; it was the stadium authorities instead.

Sun Life Stadium spokesman Jason Jenkins said on the issue: “Generally speaking, these laws are in place to protect the safety of the participants, coaches and sideline personnel by discouraging fans from running onto the field during the course of games.”

The outcome on the actual case is still awaited, but you get the feeling Gjoka probably wants to give his idol Ronaldo another enduring hug after this novel act from the Portuguese superstar.

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