Ronaldo suspended from Portugal national team after row with coach

The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) has opened disciplinary proceedings against Cristiano Ronaldo and provisionally suspended the national team captain pending a decision. The case has been referred to the disciplinary investigation commission, the federation confirmed. The FPF will not comment on it until the investigation is over.

The 41-year-old striker left the national team camp on Wednesday, 30 September, a day before the match against Denmark. The reason was a conflict with coach Jorge Jesus. On Tuesday Ronaldo said he had left in protest: according to him, the coach broke his word twice. First, despite a promise, he kept Ronaldo on the bench for the entire match against Norway, and then he did not explain it sufficiently at the press conference, even though, as the player claims, they had agreed to do so.

As the federation clarified, Ronaldo's activity with the national team had been suspended automatically even before he was provisionally suspended until the verdict “given the urgency of the case”. In his statement the footballer promised to accept any punishment and, once it is over, to be at the coach's disposal. The Madeira native is the world record holder for national team appearances (234) and goals scored (146).

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz