Cristiano Ronaldo has been banned from making his much vaunted debut for his Saudi Arabian side tomorrow night, Mail Online can reveal.
His new club Al Nassr, who are reportedly paying him £175 million a year, have sold all 28,000 seats for the match against Al Ta’ee and were set to see him kick-off his Arabian venture amid huge fanfare.
But the self-proclaimed ‘unique’ player, who left Manchester United in acrimony, is still to be punished for a misdemeanour and has been told he is barred from starring for Al Nassr, a source revealed.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been banned from making debut for new side Al-Nassr tomorrow night
He was found guilty of improper and violent conduct after he smashed an Everton fan’s phone from his hand after United lost a match at Goodison Park last April.
He slapped the hand of Jacob Harding as he stormed down the tunnel, damaging the boy’s phone.
His mother Sarah Kelly said her son’s hand was also bruised by Ronaldo.
While the investigation was ongoing last month, it was reported that Ronaldo would accept an improper conduct charge from the FA, but was determined to fight the threat of a potential ban.
He is yet to serve a two-match ban he was given by the England Football Association in November for slapping a phone out of the hand of an Everton fan during a game last season
FIFA regulations stipulate that Ronaldo’s two-match ban will carry over to new side Al-Nassr
The Saudi side had sold out all 28,000 seats for their match against Al Ta’ee tomorrow night and were set to see him kick-off his Arabian venture amid huge fanfare but they must now wait
But the winter World Cup meant Premier League football was put on hold.
United played Fulham on November 13th and resumed first team action post Qatar on 21st December against Burnley in the EFL Cup.
Ronaldo, the source said, had not been available for two first team competitive matches as his contract with United had been torn up.
The ban carries onto his next club and effectively bars Al Nassr from parading its new star striker until it has played two competitive matches that he would have been available for.
Article 12.1 of FIFA’s Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players says: ‘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…