Cristiano Ronaldo already suspended as legal ruling could cut ban to 15 days

Cristiano Ronaldo is already considered suspended from Portugal duty after leaving the national team’s camp, according to legal expert Goncalo Almeida, with the final punishment potentially reduced to 15 days and a €255 fine.

Ronaldo left the Portugal camp before their Nations League match against Denmark following a disagreement with manager Jorge Jesus. On Tuesday, the 41-year-old issued a public apology to his team-mates and the Portuguese people, while asking for disciplinary action to be taken against him.

Reports had suggested the Portugal captain could face a suspension and fine under the Portuguese Football Federation’s disciplinary regulations. However, Almeida, a lawyer and Fifa judge consulted by Portuguese newspaper A Bola, said the suspension had effectively begun as soon as Ronaldo departed the camp.

Automatic suspension and disciplinary process

Article 160 states that a player who is regularly selected but is absent or fails without justification to attend training, a match or a national-team activity can be suspended for between one and six months, in addition to receiving a fine.

Almeida said there was no practical way for Ronaldo to avoid punishment, adding that the second paragraph of the article provides for an automatic precautionary suspension when a player is absent or abandons the team.

“Ronaldo is already suspended from participating in or representing the national team,” Almeida told A Bola.

He said the federation’s disciplinary council would now begin proceedings and notify Ronaldo so he could present his case in accordance with due process. The council can call witnesses and act without a formal complaint because, Almeida said, “the facts are available to everyone”.

Ronaldo announced on social media on 30 September that he was leaving the training camp, one day before the match in Denmark. Almeida believes his public statement on Tuesday, in which he accepted responsibility for leaving, could work in his favour.

Article 244 allows an accused player to admit the facts at any stage of proceedings. If the admission is complete, unconditional and credible, the minimum and maximum sanctions can be reduced by half.

Almeida said Ronaldo had “fully and unreservedly admitted leaving the team”. If the disciplinary council accepts that interpretation, the minimum sanction of one month and €510 could become a 15-day suspension and a €255 fine.

Portugal next play Denmark in Braga on 14 November, before travelling to Wales three days later. Because the automatic suspension will count towards any final punishment, Ronaldo could be available for the next international break, depending on how quickly the disciplinary council reaches its decision.

“If Cristiano returns, it is not in the interests of the disciplinary council or the federation to suspend him for a long period,” Almeida said, adding that he was “completely convinced” the process would set records for the speed of its official ruling.

Ronaldo’s record with Portugal

Almeida acknowledged that Ronaldo’s status as captain could be viewed as an aggravating factor. However, he also pointed to the forward’s lack of previous disciplinary offences and his service to Portugal over more than 20 years.

The regulations list a clean disciplinary record, valuable contributions to football and sporting merit as mitigating circumstances. Almeida said the absence of clear precedents meant the case would need to be assessed individually.

He played down comparisons with Ricardo Carvalho, who was banned for one year from all national-team-related activities in 2011 after leaving a Portugal training camp, saying the disciplinary council “will certainly not overlook this context”.