Particle.news
Download on the App Store

FIFA Puts Ronaldo on Probation, Keeping Him Eligible for World Cup Opener

A three-game suspension carries two matches deferred for one year, leaving the already served qualifying ban as the only immediate penalty.

Overview

  • FIFA’s disciplinary committee issued a three-match ban with two games suspended under a one-year probationary period.
  • Ronaldo sat out Portugal’s 9-1 win over Armenia to fulfill the active one-game suspension, so no ban carries into 2026.
  • The red card stemmed from an elbow on Ireland’s Dara O’Shea in Dublin that was upgraded to a dismissal after VAR review by referee Glenn Nyberg.
  • After a Portuguese federation appeal citing mitigating context and his record, the panel kept further punishment conditional rather than immediate.
  • Any comparable offense within a year—potentially even in friendlies before expected March fixtures—would activate the two deferred games and could affect his World Cup availability.