The Portuguese Football Federation is preparing a grievance to FIFA in an attempt to cut back the length of Cristiano Ronaldo’s suspension following his red card against the Republic of Ireland.
Ronaldo was sent off in Portugal’s 2-0 defeat to Ireland on Thursday night for swinging an elbow at defender Dara O’Shea.
The 40-year-old was initially given a yellow card before referee Glenn Nyberg modified his decision to a red after a VAR review.
Ronaldo will now serve an automatic one-game ban, meaning that he misses Portugal’s World Cup qualifier against Armenia on Sunday.
But Portugal’s all-time leading goalscorer could also miss the beginning of the World Cup next 12 months, depending on the decision given by FIFA’s disciplinary committee.
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FIFA disciplinary laws indicate that the character of Ronaldo’s red card means he could miss ‘at the very least two matches for serious foul play’ or ‘at the very least three matches for violent conduct’.
Nonetheless, Record report that the president of the Portuguese Football Federation, Pedro Proenca, is preparing to recommend a case to FIFA within the hope of avoiding greater than a one-match suspension for Ronaldo.
The report claims that Portugal’s argument will likely be based around three points. The primary argument being the hostile atmosphere in Dublin which the Portuguese Football Federation believes was created by Ireland’s head coach, Heimir Hallgrimsson, who had accused Ronaldo of ‘controlling the referee’ within the reverse fixture in Lisbon.
Portugal also consider that Ronaldo was goaded into swinging his elbow and was consistently manhandled throughout the match. Portugal also consider there’s an absence of precedents because it was Ronaldo’s first red card in 226 appearances for the national side.
Ronaldo is about to face a three-week wait to find the length of his ban as FIFA typically takes three weeks after World Cup qualifying matches to disclose its disciplinary verdicts.
Portugal currently sit top of their World Cup qualifying group and a win against Armenia on Sunday would guarantee their qualification for next summer’s tournament.
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