Ronaldo was sent off in the 59th minute after brutally elbowing an Ireland player in the back.
He was pulling his jersey, and an irritated Ronaldo swung and hit him hard. The referee didn’t see it at first, but after VAR intervened, he ruled out the Portuguese captain.
In addition to leaving his team in the lurch, Ronaldo could miss the first two games of the World Cup if Portugal qualify for it. Namely, according to the FIFA rules, a player is punished with a minimum suspension of two games in the case of a serious offense, and up to three games in the case of attacking and elbowing.
Cristiano Ronaldo is at serious risk of being banned for at least the first game of the 2026 World Cup after being shown a red card for the first time in his record-setting international career.
FIFA disciplinary rules require its judges to impose a ban of “at least two matches… pic.twitter.com/bpjpZJVSPj
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 14, 2025
Ronaldo’s offense falls into these categories and it is not impossible for FIFA to punish him with a two or three match ban.
Whatever the punishment, Ronaldo will serve one match of the suspension in the last round of the qualifiers against Armenia, and he would have to serve any additional suspension at the World Cup, since friendly matches are not part of the suspension.
(Vijesti.ba)
