Cristiano Ronaldo Suspension For Misconduct At Manchester United Could Delay Al Nassr Debut

Cristiano Ronaldo had been hoping to make his debut for Al Nassr in Thursday's Saudi Pro League game against Al-Ta'ee.

He said as much in his first press conference as an Al Nassr player on Tuesday.

Ronaldo is fit to play, having passed a medical earlier this week.

But it is understood that he could be forced to miss Al Nassr's next two matches due to a suspension imposed by the English Football Association for an offense committed during his Manchester United career.

Ronaldo was handed a two-game domestic ban and a £50,000 fine by the FA in November after being found guilty of improper conduct.

The punishment related to an incident in April when Ronaldo slapped a mobile phone out of the hand of a 14-year-old Everton fan.

Cristiano Ronaldo pictured leaving the pitch at Everton's Goodison Park, where he slapped a phone out of a 14-year-old fan's hand following Manchester United's 1-0 loss in April 2022

Twitter/@evertonhub

Ronaldo's ban was issued the day after his United contract had been terminated by mutual consent.

But FIFA rules appear to dictate that he must still serve a two-match domestic ban upon arrival at his new club.

Article 12.1 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players states: "Any disciplinary sanction of up to four matches or up to three months that has been imposed on a player by the former association but not yet (entirely) served by the time of the transfer shall be enforced by the new association at which the player has been registered in order for the sanction to be served at domestic level. When issuing the ITC, the former association shall notify the new association via TMS of any such disciplinary sanction that has yet to be (entirely) served."

Assuming the FA notified the Saudi Arabian Football Federation of Ronaldo's outstanding ban and he sits out Al Nassr's next two games, the 37-year-old will likely make his debut on January 22 in a home match against Ettifaq.