ESPN: The outside world is paying attention to Ronaldo’s ban, but FIFA refuses to disclose the punishment timetable

According to ESPN reports, FIFA refused to disclose the timetable for punishing Ronaldo.

When Portugal lost to the Irish team in the World Cup preliminaries, Ronaldo elbowed his opponent and got red. This was the first time in his national team career that he was sent off with a red card. ESPN reported that Ronaldo will be forced to serve a one-game ban due to red stains. Portugal will face Armenia at home on Sunday. If Portugal can win, it will ensure qualification for the World Cup.

According to FIFA's disciplinary rules, a "serious foul" must be suspended for at least two games. For "violent conduct", the ban shall be at least three games; for "aggressive conduct, including elbowing", the ban shall be at least three games or an appropriate ban period.

FIFA’s ban applies to official matches and does not apply to warm-up matches. During the 2026 World Cup preliminaries, FIFA will generally announce the results of global disciplinary actions three weeks after the end of each window period, which involves red cards and on-field riots.

However, since the World Cup qualifying play-offs will not be held until March, the time pressure for FIFA to handle this month's case is not urgent. However, the outside world is still paying close attention to the final outcome of the Ronaldo case. FIFA declined on Friday to provide a timeline for the incident.