MADRID, SPAIN - APRIL 30: Ricardo Carvalho of Real Madrid is sent off by referee Miguel Angel Ayza Gamez during the La Liga match between Real Madrid and Real Zaragoza at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on April 30, 2011 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
After walking out on his team during EURO 2012 qualifying last month, Real Madrid center back Ricardo Carvalho has been banned from playing for his country for the next 12 months. The Portuguese Football Federation handed down the ban on Tuesday afternoon. They sited that Carvalho could have been banned for up to 24 months.
This also means he wont be eligible for the 2012 EURO's as at the moment Portugal leads their group (group H) on 13 points. He made his debut with the Portuguese National Team in 2004 and earned 74 caps.Here's the statement from the Portuguese Football Federation:
"Given the player's sporting past, the FPF has decided to ban Ricardo Carvalho from the national side for one year and make him ineligible for any premiums resulting from a possible qualification for Euro 2012"
-Source LA Times
Carvalho walked out of camp on August 31 without telling the coaching staff, and later in a statement told the press that he was effectively retiring from international play, as he felt he'd been disrespected. This supposedly stemmed from the fact that Pepe his Real Madrid team mate had missed a session and yet when he arrived was immediately set to train with the first team.
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