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A number of lawyers in Iran have apparently filed complaints against Cristiano Ronaldo due to a photo taken during his trip to Tehran in September.

The Portuguese football star was in the Iranian capital with Al-Nassr for the Asian Champions League, when he was caught hugging and kissing the Iranian special-needs artist Fatima Hamimi. It was a friendly exchange in which Ronaldo was merely thanking her after she gifted him a specially crafted painting in a public area.

However, all hell has broken loose over this ‘adulterous’ exchange, and now Ronaldo faces severe punishment in the Islamic country.

The artist Hamimi, said to be “85% paralysed,” expressed her admiration for Ronaldo, who reciprocated with a kiss on the cheek, a signed shirt, and a friendly photograph. However, in the country’s strict legal Islamic framework, any physical contact with a married woman is considered adultery. Now, the seemingly harmless hug, along with the contentious photograph and video of it, which managed to circulate widely on social media, has triggered a legal storm in Iran.

Image: Sports Radio Brila FM/Facebook

The scandal could see him receive “99 lashes for adultery” the next time he sets foot in Iran, per IOL. Sharq Emroz, an Iranian news network, reported that the justice system swiftly responded, sentencing Ronaldo to ‘99 lashes’ the next time he sets foot in Iran.

While Ronaldo is not expected to return during the current phase of the Asian Champions League, the potential for his return remains if Al-Nassr advances to the knockout rounds.

There is hope for the soccer star, though. If the acts are considered non-punishable or if Ronaldo expresses remorse, this sentence could be forgiven by a judge, according to Iranian media outlets.

Ronaldo, who is in a long-standing relationship with Spanish model Georgina Rodriguez, has yet to make a statement about this balls-up.

[source:iol]