The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) is reportedly set to appeal Cristiano Ronaldo’s red-card ban so he can play Portugal’s opening game of the 2026 World Cup.
Ronaldo was sent off during Portugal’s 2-0 qualifier defeat at the Republic of Ireland on Thursday after lashing out and elbowing Dara O’Shea on the hour mark in Dublin.
The 40-year-old’s length of ban is currently unclear but, he was suspended for Sunday’s 9-1 thumping win over Armenia, which secured their qualification for next year’s finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States of America.
If he is given a multiple-game ban, which is the usual punishment for a straight red card, then he would miss Portugal’s opening two matches at the World Cup next summer.
In a bid to prevent that outcome from happening, the FPF are preparing to file a complaint to FIFA to ensure his ban covers solely the Armenia qualifier, according to A Bola.
The Portuguese outlet claims FPF president Pedro Proenca has been directly involved in the process to defend Ronaldo when they make their complaint, and have three reasons for their case.
The first point they will argue is of the hostile environment within the Aviva Stadium and the actions of Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson contributing to that. The Icelandic manager had alleged that Ronaldo had dominated the referee in the previous meeting between the teams.
Secondly, they argue that Ronaldo was provoked by O’Shea’s shirt-grabbing in the build-up to the incident.
And finally they are seeking goodwill on the count of Ronaldo’s disciplinary record at international level – with this his first red card in 226 appearances for his country.
In the wake of Thursday’s loss, Portugal boss Roberto Martinez argued Ronaldo’s outburst was not ‘violent’ post-match in a staunch defence of his captain.
‘Of course, we spoke,’ the Everton manager said. ‘I think it’s difficult for a player like Cristiano, who’s in the box. And today he had two defenders constantly in physical contact.
‘There’s no violence. He tries to push the defender away and he was unlucky that the VAR… the angle of the images [makes it look] worse than what happened. It’s Ronaldo’s first red card for the national team, it’s incredible.’
