Cristiano Ronaldo set to avoid World Cup ban as FIFA confirms draw shake-up
Cristiano Ronaldo was issued a red card during a World Cup qualifier earlier this month. (Getty Images/Sportsfile: David Fitzgerald)
In short:
Cristiano Ronaldo has received a three-match ban from FIFA after being issued a red card during a qualifier.
But two of the matches have been deferred.
Ronaldo has already served a mandatory one-match ban when Portugal played its final qualifier last week.
Cristiano Ronaldo will likely avoid missing any Portugal matches at the men's World Cup, despite receiving a red card in a qualifier.
Ronaldo swung an arm and struck Ireland defender Dara O'Shea with an elbow during Portugal's 2-0 loss in Dublin earlier this month.
FIFA published a disciplinary verdict that imposed a three-match ban, judging Ronaldo's action to be an example of "violent conduct".
But two of those matches are deferred for a one-year probation period.
Ronaldo served a mandatory one-match ban when Portugal played its final qualifying match last week, a 9-1 win over Armenia that sealed its place at the World Cup in North America and Mexico.
FIFA cited its disciplinary rules that allowed for parts of a sanction to be probationary, though it was rare in cases of a three-match ban for two of them to be deferred.
Draw change
Meanwhile, FIFA announced the World Cup draw would reward the four highest-ranked teams: Spain, Argentina, France and England.
They will be placed in separate sections of a new tennis-style seeded tournament bracket.
Defending champion Argentina's passage to the semifinals appears easier. (Getty Images/Soccrates: Eric Verhoeven)
The draw procedure means the top four teams in the latest rankings will — if they finish top of their respective round-robin groups — avoid each other until the semifinals of the June 11-July 19 tournament.
The rule aims to maintain competitive balance in the expanded 48-team format.
At previous World Cups, the path for teams into and through the knockout phase was decided by the group in which they were drawn.
FIFA also revealed the four pots for the final draw, which takes place on December 6 AEDT in Washington.
The Socceroos will be drawn from pot two.
They are the lowest-ranked team in their 12-team pot, which also includes their continental rival Japan and world number 10 Croatia.
Forty-two teams have already qualified for the World Cup.
The other six entries will be decided in March when European and global play-off brackets are scheduled.
Those teams all will come out of the draw pot of lowest-ranked teams.
AP/Reuters