A disciplinary council will decide a ban of one to six months, and anything over a month would rule him out of Portugal's Nations League games against Denmark and Wales in November.
Cristiano Ronaldo faces a suspension from the Portuguese Football Federation after walking out of the national team camp in a row with head coach Jorge Jesus. Under federation rules, a suspension is triggered automatically when a player leaves camp without authorisation. A disciplinary council will decide how long it lasts, anywhere from one to six months.
The row followed Portugal's 2-1 win away to Norway on September 27, when Ronaldo was an unused substitute. In his own account, he warmed up from half-time and was never brought on. "The coach had broken his word to me." He then left the squad in Copenhagen, on the eve of a Nations League fixture against Denmark.
On Tuesday he posted an almost 2,000-word statement on Instagram. He apologised to his team-mates and to the Portuguese people, but he also accused Jesus of an "absolute breach of trust in the coach's word".
Ronaldo did not dodge the blame for leaving. He called himself team captain and said that made the matter worse:
"I am not just any player; I am team captain, and that constitutes an aggravating factor."
He asked the federation to punish him and to show no leniency. "I understand that the punishment should have no mitigating factors," he wrote. He also said he has already apologised, and that the rules are the same for everyone.
The statement also lists eight points that Ronaldo says Jesus agreed to make at a press conference. The points were approved by Ronaldo after a video meeting with Jesus, Al Nassr sporting director Simao Coutinho and his adviser Tiago Craveiro. One of them reads: "I made a mistake by putting someone of the stature of Pelé or Maradona on to warm up and then not putting him in the game." Ronaldo says Jesus did not make the points. Jesus later denied that any such agreement had been made. Asked about the statement, he said: "I didn't read Cristiano's statement." He added: "I was watching the U21 game."
Ronaldo insists he is not retiring. "If I am physically well, playing for my club, with goals I hope, after serving the suspension that may be applied to me, I will be available, as I have always been until today, to compete and win for our national team." His statement says he had written a retirement letter after the World Cup, but the federation president, Pedro Proenca, talked him out of it on the flight back from the United States. He also promised farewell matches. "We will have one or more farewell matches, there will be time for that," the statement said. Jesus has said the door remains open for his return.
Not everyone is convinced. Portuguese journalist Jose Delgado told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I don't think there is a way back." He added: "Things will never be the same again." Ronaldo has 146 goals in 234 Portugal appearances, both world records, and he has 979 goals toward the 1,000 mark he is chasing for club and country.
The disciplinary council will consider all aspects of the case, including Ronaldo's apology, before it sets the length of any ban.
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