Craig Burley

I mean, it has made a mockery of an organisation.

Let's be honest about it, couldn't give a stuff because they're making the rules up for themselves.

If that had been any other player, Joe Bloggs playing for the Republic of Ireland and they...

And they were going to be in the playoffs.

But say the Republic had qualified automatically and one of their players had been sent off for doing something similar.

He'd have got three games straight away and that poor lad would have missed the World Cup or the first couple of games in the World Cup.

But for Cristiano, there's different rules.

And if FIFA try and tell you anything different, then they're talking absolute nonsense.

I'm not suggesting he is one of the best players now.

That's a different debate.

Absolutely.

And it's now a headache for Roberto Martinez.

We've had this debate endlessly, I'm not going to go through it all again, about whether he should play or whether Roberto Martinez has a stomach to drop him and whether they're a better side without him.

For a millionth time, I'm going to say the last two major tournaments that he has played, he has struggled.

Fernando Santos benched him, and then he struggled in the last tournament, and I can't remember what Roberto Martinez did, but it wasn't very strong.

So there is an argument.

anyway to say whether he should start for Portugal or not.

But I want to see as many big stars playing at a World Cup as I can.

And I think every football fan would want the same.

But you cannot have one rule for superstars and another rule for the rest, which is what FIFA have done here.