Cristiano Ronaldo cleared for 2026 World Cup opener despite three-match ban
Ronaldo, 40, was sent off in Portugal’s penultimate World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland on November 13 for swinging an elbow at defender Dara O’Shea in an off-the-ball incident.
Cristiano Ronaldo has avoided suspension for the start of the 2026 World Cup after FIFA handed the Portugal captain a three-match ban, with the final two games suspended for a one-year probation period.
Therefore, Ronaldo will be available for Portugal’s opening match at the tournament despite his red card against the Republic of Ireland.
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Ronaldo, 40, was sent off in Portugal’s penultimate World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland on November 13 for swinging an elbow at defender Dara O’Shea in an off-the-ball incident.
He was initially booked, but the yellow card was upgraded to a red after the video assistant referee (VAR) recommended a pitch-side review.
The dismissal triggered an automatic one-match ban, ruling Ronaldo out of Portugal’s final qualifier against Armenia on November 16.
However, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee extended the suspension to three games, deeming the offence serious enough to warrant additional punishment.
According to FIFA regulations, suspensions in qualifying matches carry over into World Cup finals.
Despite this, the committee ruled that the final two matches of his three-game ban would be suspended “under a one-year probation period”, ensuring he will not miss any fixtures at the World Cup provided he does not commit “another infringement of a similar nature”.
In a statement read by The Athletic, FIFA said: “The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has imposed a three-match ban on Cristiano Ronaldo following his direct red card at the FIFA World Cup 2026 preliminary competition match between the Republic of Ireland and Portugal played in Dublin on November 13, 2025. The first of the three matches was served in the encounter Portugal v. Armenia played on November 16, 2025.”
“In line with Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the serving of the two remaining matches has been suspended under a one-year probation period.”
“If Ronaldo commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension set out in the disciplinary decision shall be deemed automatically revoked, and the remaining two matches must be served immediately at the next official match(es) of the Portuguese representative team.”
“This is without prejudice to any additional sanctions imposed for the new infringement. The three-match suspension is subject to appeal to the FIFA Appeal Committee.”
BBC Sport also reported that the fact that it was the first red card of Ronaldo’s 226-game international career was taken into account by the committee when determining the sanction.
Ronaldo scored five goals in qualifying as Portugal topped Group F to secure their seventh straight World Cup appearance. The 48 teams will learn their group-stage opponents at the draw on Friday, December 5.
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