Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to make his debut for Al-Nassr on Thursday night. But the Portuguese faced a two-match ban for smashing a child’s phone in April 2022 at Everton.
Ronaldo debuted Al Nassr under a contract until June 2025, with a wage of $ 200 million, including fixed salary, advertising and sponsorship.
The former Manchester United forward is expected to play his first match against Al Ta’ee in the 12th round of the Saudi Arabian National Championship on Thursday.
The English Football Federation (FA) said this penalty exists regardless of which club Ronaldo joins after leaving Manchester United, but only applies to the club level. However, the 37-year-old striker is still eligible to play in Portugal’s matches at the 2022 World Cup.
Ronaldo hopes to “dodge” the ban, but the 2022 World Cup causes the Premier League to be postponed for a month.
United met Fulham on November 13, and returned with a match against Burnley in the League Cup on December 21.
Ronaldo was not registered in both of these matches, he was sick, missed the Fulham game and was no longer the Red Devils player when the Cup kick took place, so it did not affect the FA’s penalty.
Ronaldo must serve a two-match suspension at the new club Al Nassr, including the match against Al Ta’ee today and Al Shabab on January 15. Ronaldo can only play since the match against Al Ettifaq on January 21.
Article 12.1 of FIFA’s Player Transfer and Eligibility Regulations states: “Any disciplinary penalty of up to four matches or up to three months has been imposed by the association against a player”
“But not yet completed at the time of the transfer, will continue to be enforced in the next federation – where the player is registered to play, at club level.”
