Cristiano Ronaldo faces disciplinary case and provisional suspension in Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo has been provisionally suspended by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), which has also opened disciplinary proceedings against the Portugal captain after he left the national team camp 24 hours before the match against Denmark.

The FPF’s Disciplinary Council classified the case as urgent and imposed the initial sanction while it investigates whether Ronaldo breached disciplinary regulations. It is the first formal punishment issued in the case, with a final decision still to come.

In a statement reported by Portuguese newspaper A Bola on Saturday, the federation said the decision followed a resolution by its non-professional section on Friday. The move was intended to establish whether disciplinary violations had occurred in relation to events reported to the authorities the previous Wednesday.

Ronaldo, 41, had already been subject to an automatic provisional suspension up to the opening of the disciplinary proceedings. The council has now imposed an additional precautionary suspension that does not apply automatically, while granting the case an urgent status.

The federation said the matter had been referred on Saturday to its Disciplinary Investigation Committee. It added that the details of the proceedings would remain confidential until the investigation has concluded.

Under the FPF’s disciplinary regulations, Ronaldo could receive a suspension of between one and six months, as well as a fine, if his departure from the camp is judged to have been unjustified.

The relevant regulation states: “Any player, after being lawfully called up, who leaves without justification or fails to attend a training session, match or any activity of the national teams or connected with the sporting representation of the Portuguese Football Federation or Portugal, shall be punished with a suspension of between one and six months and, in addition, if the player is a professional, with a fine of between 5 and 10 accounting units.”

With each accounting unit valued at 102 euros, the potential fine would be approximately 500 to 1,000 euros.

Ronaldo left Portugal’s camp during the most recent international break in an incident that caused widespread controversy. The departure was reportedly linked to his objection to comments made by manager Jorge Jesus.

He later issued a lengthy statement setting out his version of events and apologising to his team-mates and the Portuguese public. In that statement, Ronaldo also called for a severe punishment, saying he was “not an ordinary player, but the captain of the national team”.

As a result, a lengthy suspension would not come as a surprise to Ronaldo.

Despite the dispute, Portugal’s official national-team social media accounts celebrated Ronaldo’s goal for Al-Nassr against Al-Diriyah in the Roshn Saudi League on Friday.