Cristiano Ronaldo’s letter of support for Miami student revealed

Ronald Gjoka ran onto the field and hugged Ronaldo for a prolonged period of time

Cristiano Ronaldo’s letter of support for Ronaldo Gjoka, who invaded the pitch during Real Madrid’s preseason fixture against Chelsea, has been fully revealed by the Miami Herald.  Gjoka, a penniless Albanian born-Canadian student attending collage in Miami, was one of over 70,000 fans during Real Madrid’s preseason match at Sun Life Stadium until he sprinted onto the field and embraced his idol (Ronaldo) for nearly a half a minute.

Although Gjoka apologized to the owners of the stadium the 19-year-old was jailed for two days and is now charged with multiple offenses including trespassing and disorderly conduct.  But Ronaldo wrote his backing of Gjoka in a letter to the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office in a bid to drop charges on the teenager.

“My name is Cristiano Ronaldo and I play for Real Madrid,” the letter began. “I was playing in Sun Life Stadium 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. What’s more, he did not put up any resistance when the security guards and police arrived.

“As I understand it, he has admitted his mistake and understands the importance of security. He is a young man of twenty who grew up without a father and was raised by a single mother. He attends Palm Beach State Community College, Florida, with an international student grant.

“I am concerned because I understand he may face problems with immigration and with his college if the criminal charges against him are not dropped. He was immediately taken to the Stadium’s security area and then spent a day and a half in jail. It seems he appeared before a judge on Monday accompanied by his attorney who asked for the charges to be dropped, but you chose to ignore his appeal.

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. I would hate to see him face criminal charges for his mistake. By all accounts he has a bright future ahead of him and I’d hate to see this future ruined by an error of judgement. Thank you. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at any time.

Sincerely, Cristiano Ronaldo”.

Ronaldo was asked to write the message by his lawyers, but despite the footballer’s efforts charges cannot be dropped and the court case is set to move on.  State attorney’s office spokesman Ed Griffith said Ronaldo’s message would make no difference because the 28-year-old was not part of the aggrieved party, yet rightfully said it was “very, very nice.”