When will Cristiano Ronaldo make his debut for Al Nassr? Why is he suspended?

Talk about a buzzkill. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr debut has been put on hold. The Saudi Arabian side play their first league game since officially signing the Portuguese superstar on Thursday but a suspension handed out by the English Football Association (FA) will prevent the world’s best-paid soccer player from being involved.

Why does new Al Nassr signing Cristiano Ronaldo have to serve a suspension?

While playing for Manchester United, the attacker was given a two-match ban for throwing and smashing a fan’s mobile phone on 9 October after the Red Devils’ defeat to Everton. The suspension was confirmed by the FA on 23 November, by which time Ronaldo had already terminated his contract with United.

According to reports in England, Al Nassr have already sold 28,000 tickets for the match against Al Ta’ee at Mrsool Park and were all set for the start of Ronaldo’s Saudi Arabian adventure. However, FIFA regulations means that a suspension incurred for this type of unsporting behaviour must be applied regardless of whether the player in question has moved to a club belonging to another federation.

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What is FIFA article 12.1?

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.

When will Cristiano Ronaldo make his Al Nassr debut?

Ronaldo will therefore have to serve his ban in Saudi Arabia, which means Al Nassr, second in the Saudi Pro League, will be without their new acquisition for their next two matches, the second of which is a crucial top-of-the-table clash against league leaders Al Shabab on 14 January. At the earliest, the ex-Real Madrid star’s first game for his new club will be on 21 January against Al Ettifaq.