Cristiano Ronaldo’s red card ban for two games is suspended. Formally, that’s fine. But a square story involving the superstar, FIFA, the USA and Saudi Arabia shows why the mercy comes as little surprise.
Formally, to repeat, everything is fine. The regulations of the world association FIFA stipulate that bans can be suspended, including those that are imposed after an assault.
The FIFA regulations also stipulate that an assault will result in a ban of at least three games.
The footballer Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, shorter: Cristiano Ronaldo, even shorter: CR7, committed an assault on November 13, 2025. The video assistant convicted him, rightly so, as can be seen in this video:
Ronaldo deliberately elbowed Irishman Dara O’Shea in the back during the World Cup qualifying game.
Arguments for mercy: heated atmosphere, opposing coach
Pedro Proença, President of the Portuguese Football Association and a former referee who refereed a Champions League final, a European Cup and a World Cup, commented on this.
Ronaldo saw the red card for the first time in his 226th international match. That’s correct. The mood in Dublin was hostile, Proença continued. That’s a matter of definition, but it’s obvious that Irish fans don’t pay homage to their opponent’s superstar in a game that’s so important to them.
According to the Portuguese association boss, the mood against Ronaldo was also fueled by the Irish national coach. In fact, Heimir Hallgrímsson had said that Ronaldo influenced the referee in the Portuguese’s favor in the first leg.
Superstar and lawyer: Cristiano Ronaldo and association boss Pedro Proença
Another point in Proença’s defensive line: O’Shea held Ronaldo before his elbow strike. The physical contact cannot be denied from the pictures, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, as O’Shea was the direct opponent of one of the best headers in history during a cross.
All in all, Pedro Proença saw enough arguments to call for a game ban.
Suspension already served
However, FIFA insisted on the minimum penalty of a three-game ban for an assault, but applied Article 27 of the regulations and suspended a two-game ban for one year.
If Ronaldo does not “commit another violation of a similar nature and severity” during this time, he will be allowed to play in Portugal’s next competitive game, which will be the first group game at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Ronaldo served his one-game ban in the 9-1 win against Armenia in the final qualifying game. Armenia was without Tigran Barseghyan, who received a red card for a headbutt in the game in Ireland. The punishment for this assault: a three-game ban – without parole.
No mercy for Leroy Sané
FIFA handed down exactly this sentence to Leroy Sané. The German international was shown a red card after an assault in the test in Austria. It was his first and is his only one in 72 international matches in which he saw four yellow cards.
The DFB had lodged an objection in order to reduce the ban in view of the preparation for the 2024 European Championship. The FIFA appeals committee rejected the request.
How often does it happen that bans are suspended after an assault? The sports show asked FIFA this question. An answer is pending.
A driving force – like Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo benefited from FIFA, and FIFA benefits from Ronaldo. He is a driving force; only Lionel Messi has a similarly high level of popularity among footballers.
The Argentine is world champion and theoretically could have become club world champion because his club Inter Miami was nominated for the tournament. FIFA boss Gianni Infantino took the opportunity to give Inter Miami and thus Messi a starting place when the franchise reached the main round of the Major League Soccer (MLS) finished with the most points. After the playoffs, Los Angeles Galaxy were confirmed as champions, but they were not allowed to go to the Club World Cup.
Drumming in the White House
Infantino had intensively drummed up support for the bloated format with 32 teams. He was a guest at Donald Trump’s White House several times. He also appeared in the US President’s Oval Office in the run-up to the World Cup, and will most likely do so several more times in the coming months.
The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who disregards human rights and blocks effective climate protection, was also a recent guest there. He brought Cristiano Ronaldo with him to the meeting with Trump, who disregards human rights and blocks effective climate protection. The soccer star has been earning his money in Saudi Arabia since 2023 at Al-Nassr, one of four clubs directly owned by the sovereign wealth fund.
Help from Saudi Arabia
Infantino gave Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup with the obliging nod of the German Football Association. Saudi Arabia, which pays Messi as an ambassador for tourism, helped Infantino out when, despite the drumming, no partner could be found who would put a lot of money on the table for the media rights to the Club World Cup.
Dinner with Crown Prince: Cristiano Ronaldo in the White House
Then there was the streaming service “Dazn”, which paid a billion US dollars, which it had earned thanks to a stake from Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is one of FIFA’s biggest sponsors through its majority state-owned company Aramco, which earns billions from fossil fuels. On November 24th it was announced that the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) plans to grant preferential loans of up to one billion US dollars for stadium construction. A corresponding declaration of intent was signed at FIFA headquarters in Zurich.
The connections between the world football association and its boss Infantino, the USA and Saudi Arabia are so close that business with Cristiano Ronaldo is certainly going better than without him. But formally everything is fine. Now CR7 just has to prove himself, even when the atmosphere is heated and opponents are tugging at his jersey.