Cristiano Ronaldo has been cleared to start Portugal’s World Cup 2026 campaign after he effectively escaped further punishment following his red card for violent conduct against the Republic of Ireland.
A Fifa disciplinary committee has imposed a three-match ban, but with the final two games suspended, clearing Ronaldo to play a part in Portugal’s opening match of the World Cup next summer provided there is no similar infringement during the one-year probation period.
The 40-year-old forward was dismissed for the first time in his 226-match Portugal career after swinging an elbow towards Ireland defender Dara O’Shea off the ball during the 2-0 defeat in Dublin on 13 November.
Ronaldo has already served his suspension, in Portugal’s final World Cup qualifier against Armenia.
Fifa’s disciplinary code states that players could face an increased suspension of “at least three matches or an appropriate period of time for assault, including elbowing, punching, kicking, biting, spitting or hitting an opponent”.
And a Fifa statement said: “If Cristiano 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.”
Fifa’s decision to suspend the final two games of the three-match ban comes just six days after Ronaldo met US president Donald Trump in a White House dinner for Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. Fifa president Gianni Infantino was also in attendance at the White House dinner.
It means Ronaldo could become the first player in history to play in six World Cups, a landmark that Argentina’s 2022 champion Lionel Messi could also set at the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Ronaldo has confirmed that this World Cup will be his last before retirement. “Definitely, yes, because I will be 41 years old,” Ronaldo said in an interview with CNN earlier this month. “I gave everything for football. I’ve been in the game for the last 25 years. I did everything, I have many records in the different scenarios in the clubs and also in the national teams.
“I’m really proud. So let’s enjoy the moment, live the moment.”
