Ronaldo handed 30-day ban and £215 fine for walking out on Portugal squad

Cristiano Ronaldo has been handed a 30-day suspension and fined 255 euros (£215) by the Portuguese FA’s disciplinary council after walking out of the national team camp in Copenhagen earlier this month.

The council upheld the charge against the 41-year-old in full, finding that Ronaldo had deliberately committed an offence under Article 160(1) of the federation’s regulations. Proceedings were opened on 9 October, two days after reports were filed regarding his departure.

Ronaldo left Portugal’s base ahead of a Nations League match against Denmark, citing a breakdown in trust with head coach Jorge Jesus. The forward claimed Jesus had twice broken his word — first by asking him to warm up during a match against Norway despite an agreed plan for him to skip both the Norway and Denmark fixtures to manage his fitness, and then by failing to publicly clarify events at his next press conference as Ronaldo said had been agreed.

According to Ronaldo, a meeting attended by his Al Nassr sporting director Simao Coutinho produced an eight-point document in which Jesus would confirm that Ronaldo had never demanded playing time, had respected the coach’s decisions, and that asking him to warm up without bringing him on had been a mistake. Ronaldo said Jesus’s subsequent public remarks bore no resemblance to what was discussed privately.

“It was the second time he had broken his word to me,” Ronaldo said at the time. “I decided to leave the training camp without waiting for any further broken promises.”

Jesus denied reaching any agreement with Ronaldo but left the door open for a return, with Portugal going on to win the Denmark match 2-1 without their captain.

Ronaldo subsequently apologised for failing to acknowledge supporters after the Norway game and for leaving his teammates, and said he remained available for selection once any punishment had been served. The Portuguese FA’s statement did not specify which matches or activities the suspension would cover, nor whether time already served under a provisional suspension would count toward the 30-day sanction.