Ronaldo avoids additional disqualification and will be able to play at the 2026 World Cup – FIFA softens sanctions

Despite a red card in the qualifiers, Portugal's forward Cristiano Ronaldo is highly likely to participate in all of his team's matches at the World Cup. The FIFA Disciplinary Committee decided not to suspend him from the tournament games. This is stated in a Associated Press article, writes UNN.

Details

On Tuesday, FIFA announced its decision regarding the incident when Ronaldo elbowed an opponent in a match against Ireland and was sent off the field. The organization imposed a three-match disqualification, but two parts of it were deferred for a one-year probationary period.

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The footballer has already served one mandatory game of punishment – he missed Portugal's victorious 9:1 match against Armenia in the final qualifying game, which guaranteed the team's participation in the 2026 World Cup.

It was previously expected that he would miss at least one more match and start his sixth World Cup off the roster, but the sanctions turned out to be softer.

If Cristiano Ronaldo commits another violation of a similar nature and severity during the probationary period, then a disqualification for two more matches will be activated.

FIFA controls discipline in national team matches, so Ronaldo can participate in friendly matches scheduled for March, as well as in control matches in May-June before the start of the World Cup. The tournament, which will be hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico, starts on June 11, 2026.

The incident involving Ronaldo occurred two weeks ago in Dublin – during Portugal's 0:2 defeat, he swung his arm and elbowed Irish defender Dara O'Shea.

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