Cristiano Ronaldo is already suspended from Portugal duty, and a Portuguese legal expert says the ban could be as short as 15 days. Gonçalo Almeida, a FIFA judge, told the newspaper A Bola that the one-month minimum in the federation’s rulebook can be halved if a player admits the facts “without any reservations”, as Ronaldo has done. The Hindustan Times reported the details on Thursday.

The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) has not yet released an official statement. Until its disciplinary council rules, the legal position is Almeida’s reading of the regulations, not a decision.

What happened in the Portugal camp

Ronaldo, 41, was an unused substitute when Portugal won 2-1 at Norway in the Nations League on September 27. According to ESPN, he left the national team camp shortly after head coach Jorge Jesus said he did not plan to start him in the next game, away at Denmark on October 1. The Hindustan Times dates his departure to September 30.

He was back at his club, Al Nassr, by Monday. On Tuesday he put out a statement accusing Jesus of breaking promises, apologising to his Portugal teammates and saying he would accept whatever punishment the FPF hands down.

The Hindustan Times adds that he also apologised to supporters and asked for sanctions to be imposed on him. He also wrote that he expected a suspension, and promised fans: “we will have one or more farewell matches”, as quoted by The Economic Times in an AP report.

What the rulebook says

Almeida pointed to Article 160 of the FPF’s disciplinary regulations. As quoted by the Hindustan Times, it says a player who “is regularly called up, is absent, or fails to attend without justification a training session, a match, or an activity of the national teams” is punished with a suspension of between one month and six months, plus a fine.

A second provision, he said, makes absence or abandonment of play an “automatic precautionary suspension”. His conclusion: Ronaldo is “already suspended from participating in or representing the national team”, and the suspension started when he left camp.

The FPF’s disciplinary council will open proceedings and notify Ronaldo so he can give his side. Almeida expects a “very swift” decision, and said the council can act without a formal complaint “because the facts are available to everyone”. Ronaldo also has the option to call a witness, the Hindustan Times reports.

The numbers in the rule

• Suspension range under Article 160: one to six months, plus a fine
• Minimum penalty, as Almeida described it: one month and a fine of 510 euros
• If halved under Article 244: 15 days and 255 euros

The 15-day route

The reduction comes from Article 244. Per the Hindustan Times, it says an accused person may “admit the facts subject to the proceedings” at any time, and that a complete admission without reservations, which raises no doubt about its credibility, halves the minimum and maximum of the applicable sanctions.

Almeida argued Ronaldo’s social media explanation meets that test. “In the best-case scenario for the national team captain,” he said, “the minimum sanction of one month and 510 euros would become a suspension of 15 days and a fine of 255 euros.”

That is the “best-case scenario” in Almeida’s words. The council could go as high as six months.

Jesus, the coach he knows well

The fallout is awkward because the two men have worked together before. Jesus coached Ronaldo at Al Nassr, and the club won the Saudi Pro League last season with Ronaldo in the squad, as ESPN notes. According to Wikipedia, Jesus was named Portugal’s manager in July 2026, after spells at Benfica, Flamengo, Fenerbahçe, Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr.

On Wednesday Jesus responded to Ronaldo’s accusations in a single sentence: “I read the statement and now, like I do every day, I am going to the federation to work, to think about the team and the national team.”

It was not a rebuttal. It was not a peace offer either.

Portugal won without him

The sporting case is what makes the standoff hard for Jesus. ESPN reports that Portugal won all four of their Nations League games in this window. The AP report in The Economic Times says that in the games Ronaldo was an unused substitute or absent, Portugal won all three, and his replacement Gonçalo Ramos scored three times. It also notes that Ramos was in the same position at the 2022 World Cup, when Ronaldo was first dropped.

That gives Jesus an argument that the team functions without its captain. It does not change what Ronaldo has done for the country. He has scored a record 146 goals in 234 appearances for Portugal, per ESPN. According to Wikipedia, he made his debut in 2003 at 18, helped Portugal reach the Euro 2004 final and was named captain ahead of Euro 2008.

Al Nassr says he is fine

At Al Nassr, coach Ange Postecoglou declined to discuss the Portugal dispute but offered a read on his player ahead of Thursday’s league game against Al Draih. “Ronaldo played for us with full commitment and his morale is very high,” he said. “I’m his coach now at Al Nassr, and he is a great addition to our team.”

He added: “I don’t like to talk about what happened with his national team.” Postecoglou said he had coached Australia for four years and does not like club managers commenting on national team managers.

The Messi contrast

The timing sharpened the comparison. Lionel Messi played his last game for Argentina on Tuesday, a 3-0 friendly win over Benin in Buenos Aires. We covered it in our report on Messi’s farewell. Al Jazeera reports that Ronaldo replied to Messi’s farewell post with: “Leo, after so many years of defending your country, you’ve made history that will last forever.”

Al Jazeera adds that it remains unclear whether Ronaldo will play for his country again, though his apology leaves the door open to a return. Messi’s exit came after a World Cup final in July, which Argentina lost to Spain, as our match report on Ferran Torres’s winner recorded.

More football from the week is on our football page.

What comes next

Portugal’s next fixtures are at home to Denmark on November 14, then a trip to Wales three days later, according to the Hindustan Times. ESPN notes that these two matches are the next time Ronaldo could feasibly be called up. The Hindustan Times says a return depends on whether the matter between him and Jesus is settled by then.

The FPF’s disciplinary council has to notify Ronaldo and hear his response before it rules, and that ruling will set the length of the ban.

Sources: Hindustan Times, ESPN, The Economic Times (AP), Al Jazeera, Wikipedia.

Featured image: Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal celebrates his goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifying match between Armenia and Portugal in Yerevan, September 6, 2025. Photo: YantsImages / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0