Ronaldo cleared to play opening matches at World Cup

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo will be able to play his side’s opening matches at next year’s World Cup after FIFA suspended the final two games of a three-match ban on Tuesday.

Ronaldo was sent off in Portugal’s penultimate qualifying match against Ireland in Dublin earlier this month for an elbow into the back of Dara O’Shea during a 2-0 defeat.

The red card meant Ronaldo missed Portugal’s final group game, a 9-1 win over Armenia which secured qualification, and FIFA confirmed that the 40-year-old had been given a three-match ban, but barring a repeat incident, he will not serve any further punishment.

“In line with article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the serving of the two remaining matches has been suspended under a one-year probation period,” a FIFA statement said.

“If Cristiano Ronaldo commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension set out in the disciplinary decision shall be deemed automatically revoked and the remaining two matches must be served immediately at the next official match(es) of the Portuguese representative team.”

Article 27 allows FIFA’s judicial body “to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure”.

Beyond citing article 27, FIFA did not say in its statement why the ban had been suspended. Reuters has contacted FIFA for an explanation.

The red card, which was upgraded from an initial yellow card after a VAR check, was Ronaldo’s first in 226 international appearances for Portugal.

Ronaldo, who extended his contract with Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr until 2027 in June, will be playing at his sixth World Cup finals and targeting the one major trophy missing from his list of honours.

The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward was part of Portugal’s Euro 2016-winning team, and has also won two Nations League titles and is the record scorer in international football with 143 goals.

The draw for the 2026 World Cup, which takes place in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, will be held on December 5 in Washington.