Portugal has already booked their place in next year’s World Cup, meaning Cristiano Ronaldo is set to appear on football’s biggest stage for a record sixth time. However, doubts initially surfaced about his participation after receiving a red card against the Republic of Ireland during the qualifiers. The veteran forward was charged with serious foul play for violent conduct.
Ban Reduced, FIFA Shows Leniency
FIFA announced a three-match suspension for Ronaldo on Tuesday, but also confirmed that two of those matches are suspended, meaning they will only be enforced if he repeats a similar offense within the next 12 months.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓,” 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑨 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈.
Ronaldo has already served the first match of his suspension, sitting out Portugal’s emphatic 9–1 victory over Armenia, a win that officially secured their spot in the upcoming World Cup.
Incident Against Ireland Sparks Debate
The controversy began when Ronaldo was sent off for elbowing an Irish player, an action usually punished with a minimum three-match ban under FIFA rules. Still, the governing body opted for leniency, acknowledging the forward’s spotless disciplinary record.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒊𝒏 226 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔,” 𝒂 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑨 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅.
With the matter settled, Portugal can now look ahead confidently, knowing their captain will lead them in another historic World Cup campaign.
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