October 20: Cristiano Ronaldo has been fined 255 euros and suspended for 30 days from the field in Portugal. That’s roughly what you earn in the time it takes to read this sentence.
The disciplinary council of the Portuguese Federation considered the charges “fully founded” and condemned “Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, for committing, on a single occasion and with intent, the disciplinary offense provided for and sanctioned by article 160(1) of the RDFPF”.
The judgment has 28 pages. Ronaldo also took it seriously. He presented his resume.
The council noted that he “presented his sporting CV, including the awards and accolades he has received throughout his career”, and counted his “significant services to football” and “commendations of sporting merit” as mitigating factors.
Ronaldo left the field on 30 September after sitting on the bench against Norway. In a 1,740-word statement earlier this month, he said coach Jorge Jesus had reneged on a promise to give him minutes and failed to present an agreed-upon version of events at a news conference two days later. He apologized to his teammates for missing the last two games of the window and said he would not retire.
The council was less sympathetic to this account, ruling that he “unjustifiably abandoned” the selection and ignored a “special duty of restraint” as he could foresee the impact of his actions.
The penalty is retroactive to the offense, leaving Ronaldo with 11 days to serve. That means, for no one, he is clear for the November games against Denmark on the 14th and Wales three days later.
Jesus, 72, coached Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, where they won the Saudi Pro League together in 2025-26. He has said he hopes Ronaldo will be available, and Ronaldo says he wants to keep playing.
Whether the two have been invented correctly is another matter. Portugal, for its part, won the three games it lost.