Italian referee Luca Zufferli paused briefly before brandishing red cards to brawling players Leao and Roman. Even Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo’s attempts to reason with the official failed to sway the decision. Leao responded with a smug smile and wandered off.
Although Chile is already eliminated from the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada, Leao’s dismissal could still lead to a ban for Portugal’s opening matches in the tournament. Normally, a red card in a friendly leads only to a ban in further friendlies, not in competitive fixtures. For instance, Bayern star Konrad Laimer, who was dismissed for handball as the last man in Austria’s 1-0 win over Tunisia earlier this week, had nothing to fear regarding the World Cup.
However, because Leao was dismissed for violent conduct, FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee could still extend any ban to official fixtures. Should the world governing body decide to do so, Leao could therefore be forced to watch from the sidelines during the World Cup finals, which begin on 11 June.
Curacao striker Jürgen Locadia, for instance, briefly faced missing his side’s World Cup opener against Germany on 14 June after picking up a red card for violent conduct during a 1-4 friendly loss to Scotland at the end of May. However, the ban was ultimately limited to one match, so he will only miss Curaçao’s final warm-up against Aruba.