Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off in Portugal's World Cup qualifying match against Ireland.
He earned a straight red card for an elbow that he appeared to throw into the back/head of an Irish defender.
It's the type of play that earns a player a three-game suspension from FIFA.
And Ronaldo was suspended, but it isn't being served as one might think.
He did miss the Portugal final qualifying match against overmatched Armenia. But he won't miss Portugal's next two games.
The controversy here is that Ronaldo's next competitive matches for Portugal (not friendlies) will be in the World Cup. So if FIFA was going to have Ronaldo serve a standard suspension, he'd have to sit out two games at the World Cup.
The world governing body has chosen not to enforce such a punishment.
Rather, FIFA has announced that Ronaldo will have his remaining two-game suspension from international action to be served after the World Cup.
Of course, it makes sense that FIFA wouldn't want Ronaldo to have to sit out at the World Cup. He's one of the world's most well-known and popular players.
It does have fans questioning whether other players would've received similar treatment.
The World Cup draw is on Dec. 5, so that's when Portugal will learn which games it wouldn't have had Ronaldo for that they can now count on having their leader for.
Ronaldo has already played in five World Cups. He has eight goals total in those appearances.
He will be 41 when the 2026 World Cup kicks off. Ronaldo may retire after the competition and never serve that suspension at all.
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