Portugal star's slip-up: Is his World Cup place in jeopardy?

Portugal Chile

Rafael Leão made an unnecessary and potentially costly mistake in Portugal's friendly against Chile on Saturday.

Following a scuffle between Portuguese and Chilean players, the AC Milan forward was shown a red card in first-half stoppage time with the score at 0–0. Chilean defender Ivan Roman (Atlético Mineiro) also received a straight red.

The incident that led to both red cards began as a routine challenge near the corner flag between Chile right-back Felipe Faundez and Portugal's Joao Cancelo. Faundez won the tackle and cleared the ball, but Cancelo felt his opponent got back to his feet too forcefully, prompting an annoyed reaction from the full-back, who had recently been loaned from Al-Hilal to FC Barcelona.

The altercation escalated when Leao and Roman, standing nearby, became involved, exchanging shoves before the Portuguese forward swiped his hand across the Chilean's face. Several other players converged, but the situation quickly calmed.

Rafael Leao Portugal Chile

Red card in a friendly: Is Rafael Leão now facing a World Cup ban?

Italian referee Luca Zufferli paused briefly before brandishing red cards to the two protagonists, 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 absent from the upcoming World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada, Leao's dismissal could still lead to a suspension for Portugal's opening matches in the tournament. Typically, a red card in a friendly leads only to a ban in further friendlies, not in official competitions. For instance, Bayern star Konrad Laimer, sent off for handball as last man in Austria's 1-0 win over Tunisia earlier this week, has nothing to fear for the World Cup.

However, because Leao was dismissed for violent conduct, FIFA's Disciplinary Committee could still extend any ban to official competitions. 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.

Curaçao 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.

Rafael Leão is set to leave Milan, with Galatasaray emerging as a potential destination.

Leao is hoping FIFA will hand down only a one-game ban, covering Portugal's warm-up against Nigeria on Wednesday. That outcome would free him to face co-favourites Democratic Republic of Congo on 17 June, with Uzbekistan and Colombia also in their group.

Beyond the tournament, Leao faces an eventful summer: he has announced his departure from Milan after seven years. "I am proud to have made history at Milan, but I want to start a new chapter in my career," he told Portuguese TV channel Sport TV.

Milan are said to be seeking a fee starting at €50 million, and Manchester United is Leao's preferred destination. Galatasaray are also strongly interested, while the forward was repeatedly linked with Bayern Munich last year. The German champions, well known to be searching for an attacker, now appear to have settled on PSV Eindhoven's Ismael Saibari.

Leao Milan

With Rafael Leão? Portugal's group matches at the 2026 World Cup