Cristiano Ronaldo risks World Cup ban after first Portugal red card in Ireland defeat – The Athletic – The New York Times

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Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for the first time in his Portugal career during his nation’s defeat in the World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday.
The 40-year-old was red carded just before the hour mark of the game in Dublin after swinging an elbow at Ireland defender Dara O’Shea in an off-the-ball incident.
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Ronaldo was initially shown a yellow card by on-field referee Glenn Nyberg, but the video assistant referee (VAR) recommended an on-field review which subsequently saw the forward sent off.
Portugal were trailing the game 2-0 thanks to two first-half goals from Troy Parrott at the time of the forward’s dismissal.
Ronaldo is the highest men’s international goal-scorer of all time, with 143 goals in 226 appearances for Portugal.
It was the 12th red card of the forward’s career, but his first at international level. Previously, he had been sent off three times for Manchester United, on six occasions for Real Madrid, once for Juventus and on one occasion for current club Al Nassr.
A red card typically results in a player being suspended for between one and three competitive (non-friendly) matches, depending on the severity of the offense.
That means Ronaldo will miss his side’s final World Cup qualification match against Armenia on Sunday, which Portugal must win if they are to clinch automatic qualification to next year’s tournament.
FIFA’s regulations state that any suspensions in qualification matches would carry over to the final competition, with the FIFA Disciplinary Committee determining if a player should serve a suspension longer than one match.
In FIFA’s Disciplinary Code, Chapter 2, Article 14(i) states: “Players and officials shall be suspended for misconduct as specified below … at least three matches or an appropriate period of time for assault, including elbowing, punching, kicking, biting, spitting or hitting an opponent or a person other than a match official”
Finishing second in their group would see Portugal go into a play-off spot, which Ronaldo could serve any subsequent suspended games in order to guarantee his availability for the finals in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
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