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The Disciplinary Board of the Portuguese Football Federation has opened disciplinary proceedings against Cristiano Ronaldo for walking out of the national team’s training camp in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Before the match against Denmark, the captain clashed with coach Jorge Jesus (JJ) after being left on the bench and not brought on in the previous game against Norway, despite what he had been promised. According to Ronaldo, Jorge Jesus had assured him he would play for 30 minutes.
Feeling that JJ had gone back on his word, Cristiano Ronaldo walked out on the national team on 30 September, posting a message on his Instagram account announcing his decision and promising that, “in due course”, he would tell “the truth to all Portuguese people” about the reasons behind his sudden departure.
Until the captain made that public statement, the football world struggled to ignore the controversy that had erupted within the squad. The players, however, did everything they could to stay out of the affair, avoiding media questions and ultimately delivering the national team’s four best performances in recent years.
Under coach Jorge Jesus, Portugal won all four matches, qualified for the next phase of the Nations League and climbed back to fifth place in the world rankings, pushing Brazil down to sixth.
In the letter Ronaldo posted on social media to explain why he had left the national team camp, he apologised to the squad, his teammates and the Portuguese people. He also said he was willing to return to the team and took “responsibility” for walking out, adding that he was prepared to face the disciplinary consequences.
According to the Disciplinary Board (CD), Cristiano Ronaldo has therefore been provisionally suspended while the case, classified as “urgent”, is processed.
“Disciplinary proceedings have been opened against Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro by decision of the Non-Professional Section on 9 October 2026, with the aim of determining whether the facts reported on 7 October 2026 have any disciplinary implications. Without prejudice to the automatic preventive suspension to which he was subject until the proceedings were opened, a non-automatic preventive suspension has been imposed on the player, and the case has been given urgent status,” reads the statement released by the CD.
According to sports website MaisFutebol ( source in Portuguese), the disciplinary proceedings began “after two complaints were filed against Ronaldo: one by the Federation’s own board and another by third parties outside the FPF”.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been suspended for 20 days under paragraph 2 of Article 40-A of the Federation’s Disciplinary Regulations.
The suspension ends on 30 October, which could mean the captain will be available to rejoin the squad in time for the national team’s November fixtures, adds MaisFutebol.
Ronaldo could face a severe punishment for leaving the training camp. The federation’s disciplinary regulations stipulate that any player who, without justification, “leaves or fails to attend” a training session, a match, or a national team activity “shall be sanctioned with a suspension of between one and six months”, in addition to a fine.
Ronaldo informed the federation that he was leaving, but it remained unclear whether the decision would be deemed justified under the regulations.
“I have already apologised, but I know that actions must have consequences. Anyone in the world of football, just like me, knows that, regardless of one’s status, the rules are the same for everyone,” Ronaldo wrote in the letter in question.
The federation said on Saturday that the case is before the disciplinary inquiry committee (CD) and that the information gathered will remain confidential until it reaches a conclusion.