First International Red Card, Ronaldo Threatened Not To Appear In The Early Match Of The 2026 World Cup

JAKARTA - Cristiano Ronaldo is seriously at risk of being banned from playing at least for the first match of the 2026 World Cup after receiving a red card for the first time in his international career to break the record when Portugal lost 0-2 to the Republic of Ireland.

Ronaldo received a red card for his violent behavior in the 61st minute after elbowing Irish defender Dara O'Shea to stay away from the ball.

After the first yellow card, the referee was urged to review the incident on the sidelines monitor by the video referee assistant (VAR) and raise the decision to become a red card.

It marked Ronaldo's first red card for Portugal in his 226th appearance, a record in international football.

While at club level, he has been removed from the field 13 times.

The Al Nassr forward will undergo a mandatory one-match ban imposed on every red card when Portugal host Armenia on Monday, November 17, 2025, early morning WIB.

With confidence that victory will secure their place in the 2026 World Cup, Ronaldo has the potential to miss the first match of the group stage of the tournament as part of a two-time ban on playing.

FIFA disciplinary regulations require its judges to impose a ban on at least two games for serious offenses.

The ban is at least three games for violent behavior or at least three games or a suitable period of time for offenses that fall into the attack category, including following.

The FIFA ban will apply to competitive matches and cannot be brought down in preturnative or friendly exhibition matches.

Meanwhile, Portugal coach Roberto Martinez defended Ronaldo after the match.

"The red card is only for a captain who has never been sent off in 226 games."

"I think it deserves to be praised. Today, I think it's a bit harsh because he cares about the team."

"He was in the box for 60 minutes or 58 minutes, snatched, pulled, pushed, and obviously he tried to break away from defenders."

"I think the action looked worse than the real thing. I don't think it was elbows, I think it was the whole body, but from where the camera was, it looked like an elbow. However, we accepted it," Martinez said.

Furthermore, Martinez tried to link Ronaldo's red card with the comments of the Irish Republic coach, HeIMir Hallgrimsson, who said the star forward could influence the referee.

"The only thing that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth is at a press conference before the game."

"Your coach (Ireland) spoke about the aspect of the referee being influenced. Then a large centre-back fell onto the pitch dramatically as Cristiano turned around," Martinez said.

Hallgrimsson's comments were also suspected to be a trigger for Ronaldo's argument with the Irish coach during the red card incident.

In fact, before the match, the Portugal captain promised to be a good boy to anticipate the surge of ridicule at the Aviva Stadium.

In the previous match between the two teams, Ronaldo celebrated Ruben Neves' last-minute winning goal against Irish defender Jake O'Brien.

Ireland's supporters have accused former Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus stars of improper influence on match referees on that occasion - which Hallgrimsson reiterated in a pre-match press conference.

In fact, Hallgrimsson gave additional spices by urging Swedish match referee Glenn Nyberg not to allow Ronaldo to be a match referee.

Ronaldo then applauded and gave two thumbs up with a sarcastic gesture when he was ridiculed and ridiculed by Irish fans after being expelled.

He spoke to Hallgrimsson sharply as he left the field.

"He praised me for pressing the referee. It was his actions on the pitch that made him get a red card."

"It had nothing to do with me, except for me that made him angry. Not (speaking after the game), I think we talked enough when he left."

"There's nothing to talk about. It's just a bit of a joke from him, in my opinion," Hallgrimsson said of an argument with Ronaldo.

Apart from that, Portugal entered the match against Ireland knowing that victory would secure their place at the 2026 World Cup, but the hosts came as a surprise with two goals from Troy Parrott.

Portugal is still two points ahead of Hungary in Group F, which means winning against Armenia in the group's final game will be enough for Ronaldo and his friends to reach their sixth World Cup.