One of football's greatest goalscorers has been disciplined by his own federation. The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) announced on Monday that Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, has been suspended for 30 days and fined 255 euros ($286) for leaving the national team camp, The Express Tribune reported, citing AFP.
It is the minimum penalty under the federation's rules, which provide for suspensions of between one and six months for walking out on the national team.
Why he walked out
According to AFP, Ronaldo abruptly left the camp on September 30 during the UEFA Nations League. He had been made to warm up as a substitute against Norway on September 27 without being brought on, then learned he would not start against Denmark on October 1.
In a social media post after the walk-out, he accused coach Jorge Jesus of breaking his word about game time but insisted he was not retiring from international football. "I will be available, as I have always been until today, to compete and win for our national team," he wrote.
Remorse counted
The FPF disciplinary committee said it took into account "the remorse shown in the statement" Ronaldo issued on October 6, in which he admitted his mistake and said he would accept punishment. The ban runs from the day of the Denmark match, so he has already served 19 days and will finish it by the end of October.
Jesus said days later that he would pick Ronaldo if the forward was playing for his Saudi club Al Nassr and wanted to be called up. In Ronaldo's absence, Portugal won all four of their Nations League matches and reached the quarter-finals with two games to spare.
Portugal host Denmark on November 14 and visit Wales on November 17, by which time the suspension will be over. Ronaldo did not react directly on Instagram, but posted a picture of himself preparing to train with Al Nassr, captioned "Putting in the work".