Like France and the rest of the European nations, Portugal begins its second qualifying session for the 2026 World Cup this October. If it were to qualify for the competition, some believe that the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo could seriously benefit it. And not only in terms of play. The possibility of advantageous arbitration was thus mentioned by Philippe Sanfourche.
For the journalist present Wednesday evening on the set of the L'Équipe channel, CR7's last dance in a major global competition could therefore earn him a sort of benevolent arbitration. “There is one element that is considerably important to me, in light of the last World Cup, and that is that FIFA likes big stories. »
And the observer has to put his foot in the dish when developing his point. “It’s a slippery slope, but there’s always this unspeakable side. (…) When we say that Real Madrid is not necessarily refereed like the others (…), we have difficulty providing proof and the players themselves, in the arbitration, are incapable of saying: 'at such a moment, I switched in favor of…'. Portugal will be refereed differently if Cristiano Ronaldo is present. Just like Lionel Messi and Argentina could, at specific moments, be refereed differently during the last World Cup. »
Cristiano Ronaldo protected at the 2026 World Cup?
A hell of a prediction to already announce a possible controversy and decisions taken to favor, or in any case not hinder too much, the course of the Portuguese Seleçao.
“It could be an element. Portugal being in the four or five favorite teams. »
First in its 2026 World Cup qualifying group with two victories in as many matches played, Portugal will face Ireland (October 11) and Hungary (14). Depending on the other results, he could validate his qualification at the end of this gathering, without waiting for the final session of qualifying matches scheduled for next January, with a trip to Ireland (the 13th) and the reception of Armenia to finish (the 16th).
