Cristiano Ronaldo reacting after receiving a red card during Portugal vs Ireland
Cristiano Ronaldo has once again found himself at the centre of global football debate — but this time, the Portugal captain is walking away with a surprisingly light punishment.
The 40-year-old superstar was initially expected to miss multiple matches at the 2026 World Cup after being sent off for elbowing Republic of Ireland defender Dara O’Shea off the ball. The incident was reviewed by VAR and upgraded from a yellow card to a straight red, sparking concerns that Ronaldo could face a long suspension for violent conduct.
Instead of the expected three-match ban, fifa’s disciplinary committee has ruled that ronaldo will serve only a one-match suspension — a ban he has already completed after missing portugal’s 9-1 thrashing of armenia.
In addition, ronaldo will carry a two-game suspended ban, which will only be activated if he commits a similar offence within the next 12 months. Essentially, he’s walking a disciplinary tightrope until next year.
Shockingly, this red card is the first of ronaldo’s 226-cap international career. His clean record is believed to have played a big role in fifa’s leniency.
This wasn’t even the first time ronaldo and o’shea clashed. Their rivalry dates back to 2021, when ronaldo appeared to strike the irish defender, an incident missed by both the referee and var at the time. This time, however, the officials caught everything.
While ronaldo served his ban, portugal put nine goals past armenia, and fans couldn’t help noticing how fluid and dynamic the team looked without him. It reignited an old debate — is portugal actually better without cr7?
A similar conversation happened during the 2022 world cup when fernando santos benched ronaldo in key games. Although that tournament ended in disappointment, roberto martinez has since restored ronaldo as a central figure.
Still, as portugal prepare for the 2026 world cup, the big question lingers:
is building the attack around a 40-year-old ronaldo the best way forward?
Time will tell — but for now, ronaldo is cleared, available, and still firmly in the heart of portugal’s plans.
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