Cristiano Ronaldo will be able to play in Portugal’s first World Cup match despite receiving a red card against Ireland. The legendary forward was sent off after elbowing Dara O’Shea, and VAR intervention confirmed his sending off. This led to concerns that, depending on the length of his suspension, he might not be able to represent his country in the opening match of the World Cup.
Normally, violent behavior would result in an automatic three-match suspension, but this was an unusual ruling in which Ronaldo received a one-year suspension for the second and third matches. He did not feature in Portugal’s win over Armenia, his first game since being sacked against Ireland during the recent international break. As a result, the 40-year-old will not miss next summer’s World Cup matches.
“If Cristiano Ronaldo commits another violation of a similar nature and severity during his trial period, the suspension set out in the disciplinary action will be automatically deemed revoked and he must play the remaining two matches immediately,” FIFA said in a statement.
According to BBC Sport, this unique ruling was influenced by Ronaldo’s sending off against Ireland, his first red card in 226 international games.
The former Real Madrid marksman scored five goals in qualifying as Portugal progressed through Group F and qualified for their seventh consecutive World Cup. The group stage opponents will be revealed during the draw next Friday.
This comes after Portuguese national team coach Roberto Martínez insisted that Ronaldo remains a very important player at international level, highlighting his ambitious personality and impressive goal-scoring rate.
Martínez, who appeared as a guest on Monday Night Football, said: “Obviously everyone has an opinion (on Ronaldo). What I’ve seen is that when we win and Cristiano scores one or two goals, the question in the press is, ‘What are you going to do when Cristiano’s not there? The team relies too much on Cristiano.’
“If Cristiano doesn’t score, you say, ‘How do you win when you have a 40-year-old player in your team?’ It’s easier for us than that. He plays because he’s scored 25 goals in the last 30 games. His record is incredible.”
“When he came into training camp, he was an example of professionalism, taking care of himself and spending every day trying to get better. And that’s the pride of playing for the national team. He is the only (male) player in the world in history to have played 227 (international) games.”
“There are aspects that can be traced to the current actions. Nobody is given anything in international football. Every player is incredibly competitive and what Cristiano brings, along with his goalscoring ability, is his attitude and his hunger for the national team.”
“So he has that, but he’s also an incredible source of contagious positivity in the dressing room. He’s become a specialist in the box as a finisher and it’s this desire to continue to develop that is who he is.”
“I always believed that the body makes a player retire. Looking at Cristiano’s work, I am convinced that it is the brain that makes a footballer retire. His body follows his concentration and mindset. He is not doing it for someone else (other people), he is doing it for himself.”
