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The Portuguese Football Federation concluded its disciplinary proceedings against Cristiano Ronaldo on Monday – and handed the 41-year-old superstar what is, at best, a symbolic punishment. A return in November is possible.
Compared with the huge furore caused by Cristiano Ronaldo’s early departure from the Portuguese national team during the extended international break, the penalty announced on Monday evening for the 41-year-old superstar was extremely lenient.
As the Portuguese Football Federation announced in a statement, the FPF’s Disciplinary Council decided in a meeting to impose a 30-day ban and a fine of 255 euros on CR7. According to the FPF’s disciplinary regulations, a ban of up to six months was possible; Cristiano Ronaldo has now got off with the minimum penalty.
CR7 has already served most of the suspension
And, as the statement indicates, CR7 has already served most of this minimum penalty. According to the statement, the 30-day period began with the provisional suspension on the day after the player’s provisional departure on 30 September. 19 days have therefore already elapsed. This means that the national team captain could even return to the squad for the two final international matches of the calendar year, which Portugal will play against Denmark on 14 November and in Wales on 17 November. In effect, CR7 is therefore only suspended during the off-season.
The player, who has made 234 appearances for his country, left the Portuguese national team’s training camp early at the end of September after not being selected for the 2–1 Nations League first-leg win in Norway. Following the row, the multiple World Footballer of the Year publicly accused manager Jorge Jesus of breaking his word. He claimed to have relied on a verbal assurance that he would play and on a subsequent public statement. The saga now appears to be drawing to a swift close, though neither the player himself nor the manager has yet commented on a possible return following the ruling.
