If Ronaldo is suspended for at least two games and Portugal advances directly, Ronaldo will miss the first game of the World Cup

In the Portuguese team's 0-2 loss to Ireland in the World Cup qualifying match, Ronaldo was sent off on behalf of the Portuguese team for the first time in his career.

Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off with a red card for hitting an opponent with his elbow without the ball nearly an hour into the game.

At first, the on-duty referee Glenn Nyberg showed Ronaldo a yellow card, but the video assistant referee suggested that the referee review the video, and Ronaldo was subsequently given a red card and sent off.

A red card usually results in a player being suspended from one to three official (non-friendly) matches, depending on the severity of the foul.

This means that Ronaldo will miss Portugal's final World Cup qualifying match against Armenia. Portugal must win this game to ensure direct qualification to next year's World Cup.

FIFA regulations state that any suspension penalties in the qualifiers will be carried into the finals, and the FIFA Disciplinary Committee will decide whether the player should be suspended for more than one game.

According to the provisions of Article 14(i) of Chapter 2 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code: "Players and officials shall be suspended for inappropriate conduct... for at least three games or a corresponding period of time. Penalties shall apply to assaults, including elbowing, punching, kicking, biting, spitting or hitting opponents or non-match officials."

If the Portuguese team ranks second in the final group, they will enter the play-offs. Ronaldo can serve any subsequent ban in a potential play-off game to ensure he can participate in the World Cup finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.