Ronaldo reportedly suspended by Portugal for storming out of camp
Cristiano Ronaldo has reportedly been suspended by the Portuguese Football Federation after walking out of the national team’s Nations League camp, according to the Mirror.
Federation rules are said to trigger the ban automatically, with a disciplinary council to decide how long it will last.
The punishment could run from one to six months. A ban of more than a month would rule him out of Portugal’s November Nations League fixtures against Denmark and Wales, which makes the council’s decision important for the 41-year-old’s immediate international future.
The council is expected to weigh all the circumstances, including the public apology Ronaldo has already issued.
ESPN has suggested a shorter ban is the likelier outcome, with the minimum penalty potentially allowing him back in time for November’s matches.
The trouble began after Ronaldo was an unused substitute in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Norway, despite being sent to warm up. He felt humiliated, left the camp after a row with head coach Jorge Jesus, and then released a long statement.
In that statement he apologised to his teammates for leaving, saying: “Despite the clear breaking of trust in the coach’s word, I should not have done that.” He said his staying would only harm the group, and that he left as he had always said he would if he felt no longer useful.
He also argued he should face a punishment with no mitigating factors. “I am not just any player; I am the captain of the team, and this constitutes an aggravating circumstance,” he said, adding that the rules apply to everyone in football, regardless of their standing.
Jesus has tried to play down the fallout. “I read the statement and now I am doing my job as I do every day,” he said. “I am going to the federation to work and think about the team.”
Portugal have coped well without Ronaldo, beating Denmark 4-2 and Norway 2-1 to move through to the Nations League quarter-finals, a result that gives Jesus strong leverage as the federation decides how to proceed.
Ronaldo has insisted he has not retired from international football. He has 234 caps for Portugal and a men’s record of 146 international goals, and has said he would make himself available again once any suspension is served.
Whatever the length of the ban, the episode leaves the federation with a delicate balance between enforcing its own rules against its captain and keeping the door open for the most prolific scorer in the history of the men’s international game.