The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced today the sanction for Portugal's captain Cristiano Ronaldo after he received a red card in his national team's match against Ireland in Dublin. Due to this red card, Ronaldo missed Portugal's final group match, in which they won 9-1 against Armenia to secure qualification for the finals. FIFA confirmed that the veteran player (40 years old) was suspended for three matches, but provided the incident is not repeated, he will not face any further punishment. In a statement, FIFA said: 'In accordance with Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the execution of the remaining two matches of the suspension has been deferred for a period of one year.' It added: 'If Cristiano Ronaldo commits another offence of a similar nature and gravity during that period... he will be required to serve the remaining two matches of the suspension immediately in the next official matches for the Portugal national team.' This decision allows Cristiano Ronaldo to be available for Portugal's opening matches at next year's FIFA World Cup.
