Cristiano Ronaldo escapes fine for Covid protocol breach during romantic ski trip

Last week, Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo and his girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez found themselves under investigation after they allegedly took a romantic getaway to celebrate the Spanish beauty's 27th birthday. Despite breaching Italy's COVID-19 lockdown protocols, it is believed that the pair has escaped paying any fines.

Italy has imposed a ban on travelling between high risk regions called "orange zones" as part of their current lockdown protocols amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Ronaldo and Rodriguez are believed to have been in breach of said safety protocols after travelling to Valle d'Aosta from Turin on Tuesday to Wednesday last week.

The couple visited a ski resort and stayed overnight to celebrate before heading back to Turin on Wednesday afternoon. The resort is reportedly only two hours away from where they live in the outskirts of Turin.

The latest update on the investigation has identified their destination as the five-star Le Massif hotel. This is where they allegedly spent the night after having a romantic dinner together. They also enjoyed a snowmobile ride, which was captured on videos that triggered the investigation.

However, The Sun reports that the hotel was found closed on Thursday, when authorities visited the location to investigate. Likewise, the couple has escaped a 400 euro fine because such fines must be handed on the spot in person once an individual is caught in breach of rules regarding unauthorised movement between regions.

With the alleged violation having taken place last week, the fine can't be collected in retrospect. Ronaldo has yet again toed the line when it comes to COVID-19 safety protocols. However, even if he was fined, 400 euros will hardly make a dent for the Portuguese striker.

Back in October, Ronaldo also faced scrutiny after complaints that he might have breached safety protocols for flying back to Italy after testing positive for the novel coronavirus while on international duty. He flew back to Turin on an air ambulance and claimed that he and his medical team followed all mandated protocols. No punishment was handed out on that occasion either. He has since recovered and returned to football action.