SOCCER: Ronaldo cleared to play opening matches at World Cup

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo will be eligible to play in his team’s opening matches at next year’s World Cup after FIFA suspended the final two games of a three-match ban, the governing body announced on Tuesday.

Ronaldo received a red card in Portugal’s penultimate qualifying match against Ireland in Dublin earlier this month after elbowing Dara O’Shea during a 2-0 defeat. The dismissal ruled him out of Portugal’s final group game, a dominant 9-1 victory over Armenia that secured their World Cup qualification.

FIFA later confirmed that the 40-year-old forward had been handed a three-match suspension. However, under the organization’s disciplinary guidelines, the remaining two matches have been placed under a one-year probation period—meaning Ronaldo will not serve further punishment unless he commits a similar offense.

“In line with Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the serving of the two remaining matches has been suspended under a one-year probation period,” FIFA said in a statement.

“If Cristiano Ronaldo commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension set out in the disciplinary decision shall be deemed automatically revoked, and the remaining two matches must be served immediately at the next official match(es) of the Portuguese representative team,” the statement added. -Trevor Stynes/Reuters