World football governing body FIFA has cleared Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo to feature in the European nation’s first two games in the upcoming World Cup.
Portugal have qualified to compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup prior to concerns Ronaldo wouldn’t be available for selection in the opening rounds after the Al-Nassr player picked up a straight red card against Ireland in a qualifier for elbowing an Irish player.
A straight red card for violent conduct automatically leads to a three match ban and Ronaldo served the first of the three game suspension when he was absent in Portugal’s 9-1 win over Albania.
However, the threat of Ronaldo serving the subsequent banned games has been effectively killed as FIFA has cleared the former Man United player to play in the World Cup.
The remaining banned matches Ronaldo has to serve has been suspended for a year with FIFA indicating that a repeat of the violent conduct by Ronaldo would have the suspension revoked and the ban served immediately.
“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” FIFA stated.
Ronaldo’s straight red card against Ireland was his first in 226 games for Portugal.
