Former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley has criticised FIFA for permitting Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo to play within the opening match of the 2026 World Cup.
Burley mentioned FIFA’s determination was “a mockery” and “a disgrace” after they decreased Ronaldo’s punishment from a three-match ban to only one recreation.
Ronaldo was proven a purple card in Portugal’s 2–0 loss to Eire after elbowing Dara O’Shea off the ball.
Due to the suspension, the Al-Nassr striker missed Portugal’s closing qualifier in opposition to Armenia.
Talking on ESPN FC, Burley mentioned: “If Gianni Infantino had any disgrace… Let’s be sincere, he’d promote his soul for cash. He has already proven that with the Membership World Cup and the larger World Cup.”
He added: “They’ve made enjoyable of their very own disciplinary system. It’s a whole shame. What this tells referees and others is: ‘Don’t ship off the large stars. Solely punish the gamers who’re much less well-known, as a result of we would like the large names on the main tournaments.’
“When have you ever ever seen a participant get a warning as a substitute of a full ban for violent conduct? It needs to be a three-game ban, and that’s that. You possibly can’t give somebody a three-match suspension after which say they will skip two of the video games.
“This makes FIFA look silly as a result of they’re altering the foundations to go well with themselves. If it had been every other participant, they might have acquired the complete three-game ban and missed both the World Cup or a minimum of the primary few video games.
“However for Cristiano Ronaldo, they’ve totally different guidelines. And if FIFA attempt to let you know in any other case, they’re speaking full nonsense.”
