Cristiano Ronaldo makes so many fans happy, and there were similar cases before it's good that he's been allowed to play from the beginning of the World Cup' Former Manchester United team-mate backs FIFA decision not to increase legend's suspension

"Cristiano Ronaldo seemed at real risk of missing the start of the World Cup after a red card in the Republic of Ireland recently before being granted a reprieve. Ronaldo was sent off for elbowing Dara O'Shea during Portugal's penultimate qualifier, and was suspended for their next match against Armenia as a result. FIFA then had the power to increase the suspension, which would have covered the start of the World Cup, but opted not to."

"Instead, a further two-match ban has been suspended for a year, and will only be activated if he commits another offence. You may like Ronaldo gestures towards Dara O'Shea in Dublin (Image credit: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty Images) The fact that it was Ronaldo's first red card in 225 international appearances was reported to have been taken into account, while there have been other cases in the past of players avoiding longer suspensions that would have affected their appearances in the World Cup."

"Ahead of the 2014 tournament, Laurent Koscielny was suspended for the second leg of France's World Cup play-off against Ukraine after slapping Oleksandr Kucher in the first leg, but the ban was not extended any further. Mikael Silvestre (Image credit: Getty Images) Mario Mandzukic was sent off for serious foul play in the second leg of Croatia's play-off against Iceland, and was given just a one-match ban, meaning he featured in his country's second game of the World Cup."

Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for elbowing Dara O'Shea during Portugal's penultimate World Cup qualifier and received a one-match suspension for the next match against Armenia. FIFA had the power to extend the ban to cover World Cup matches but opted not to, instead suspending an additional two-match ban for one year to be activated only if he commits another offence. The decision took into account that the red card was his first in 225 international appearances. Previous players, including Laurent Koscielny and Mario Mandzukic, avoided longer tournament-impacting suspensions. Mikael Silvestre commented that global fans wanted to see Ronaldo play.

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