Ronaldo handed 30-day suspension and fine by Portugal for walking out of camp

Cristiano Ronaldo has been officially punished by the Portuguese Football Federation after abandoning the national team’s training camp in Denmark last month. The federation’s Disciplinary Council announced Monday that the 41-year-old captain has been handed a 30-day suspension and a fine of €255 (approximately $286).

The suspension is backdated to September 30, the day Ronaldo departed camp, meaning he will be eligible for selection when Portugal next plays on November 14.

The Disciplinary Council’s statement confirmed Ronaldo was found “guilty of committing, on one occasion and intentionally, the disciplinary offense” under Article 160(1) of the federation’s disciplinary regulations, with the 30-day ban and a fine of 2.5 units — totalling €255 — applied as a result.

The fallout stemmed from Portugal’s 2-1 Nations League win at Norway on September 27, in which Ronaldo was an unused substitute. He claimed head coach Jorge Jesus had promised him around 30 minutes of playing time; Jesus had him warm up but never brought him on. Tensions escalated days later when Jesus confirmed Ronaldo would not start against Denmark, prompting the forward to leave camp the day before the match in Copenhagen.

Portugal went on to win both the Denmark fixture and a rematch with Norway without Ronaldo, sitting top of their Nations League group with a perfect record across four matches.

In a lengthy Instagram post on October 6, Ronaldo accused Jesus of breaking promises but accepted personal responsibility for his departure. “I owe my national team teammates an apology for leaving the training camp,” he wrote, adding that his status as captain made the act “an aggravating factor” and explicitly calling on the federation to sanction him.

The two men had previously worked together at Al-Nassr, where they won the Saudi Pro League title in 2025-26 before Jesus moved into the Portugal head coach role.

Ronaldo did not signal any intention to retire from international football. He remains the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 146 goals in 234 appearances for Portugal, and captained the side to the Euro 2016 title and two Nations League crowns.