Will Cristiano Ronaldo miss the first two World Cup games after Ireland’s red card?
Cristiano Ronaldo could miss the first two World Cup matches following his red card against the Republic of Ireland last night.
The Portugal star was sent off just after the hour mark for home defender Dara O’hea as Roberto Martinez’s side suffered a 2-0 shock.
The setback means Portugal missed out on qualification yesterday and must now beat Armenia on Sunday to secure a place in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer.
What happened to Ronaldo?
If Portugal qualify automatically then Ronaldo is set to miss the first two games in the finals.
FIFA’s Rifa Code, chapter Two, Article 14 (I) states: “Players and officials will be suspended for misconduct as defined below … including charging, punching, kicking, hitting or hitting an opponent or a person other than a match official”.
The Al-Nassr striker will sit out the Armenia Game and Portugal’s next match, which will be in the World Cup, which will be in the World Cup if they win this weekend.
If Portugal loses against Armenia – the prospect of that cannot be seen very much as it sits at the bottom of group f with one win from five games – and Hungary Beat Ireland then Portugal will go down in the play-offs. Ronaldo’s suspension will be served for those games, freeing him to play in the World Cup in advance.
What upset Ronaldo?
The 40-year-old had a frustrating night, failing to get the better of Ireland’s centre-halves.
He then came off O’shea when the pair crowded into the Irish penalty area. O’Shea went to the ground that prompted Ronaldo to abuse the defender of the city of Ipswich Town, the five-time ballon rubbing his eyes by pretending to be an act of looking.
Temple’s Glenn Nyberg initially issued a yellow card but was called to the Pitchside Monitor for a second look. Then he showed Ronaldo the red.
Ronaldo didn’t take the decision well, he violently gave the thumbs up to the delight of the Dublin crowd, who were also happy to repeat his eye-rubbing gesture.
When he left, Ronaldo also bee-lined Ireland coach Heimir HallGrimsson to express his frustration.
What did the coaches say afterwards?
Asked what Ronaldo said to him as he left the scene, Hologrimsson said: “He praised me for putting pressure on the referee.
“It was his step in the section that cost him the red card. It was nothing for me – unless I got in his head.”
Martinez was not happy with Hologrimsson, who used his pre-match conference to allow Ronaldo to “manage the referees” in the match in Portugal won by Ruben Neves.
The Portugal manager said: “The red card is just a captain who has never been sent off before 226 games – I think he just deserves credit – and today, I thought it was difficult because he cares about the team.
“He had 60 or 58 minutes in the box being tackled, pulled, pulled and obviously when he was trying to get away from the defender…
“I think the action looks worse than it actually is, I don’t think it’s an elbow, I think it’s a full body, but where the camera comes, it looks like an elbow. But we welcome it.
“The only thing that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth at the press conference yesterday, your coach was talking about the influence of the referees, and then the half-time falls very low at the beginning of Cristiano’s body.”
