The Portuguese Football Federation have banned Real Madrid defender Ricardo Carvalho for 12 months for walking out on the national squad last month.
The 33-year-old was reportedly unhappy at being left out of the starting line-up for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Cyprus, and left the team's training camp on August 31 without informing either the federation or coach Paulo Bento.
He later announced he had reached the end of his international career, claiming he had been left "disrespected and hurt". There looks to be no room for any change of heart now, with the board having decided at a meeting on Tuesday that the player should be excluded from the national team for the next 12 months.
A statement on the federation's website, www.fpf.pt, read: "We could have applied article 21 of the national team regulations, which supports the expulsion of a player for 24 months.
"[But], taking into account the player's record, the board decided on the removal of the player from the national team for one year, as well as the loss of prizes to be awarded as a result of any qualification for the Euro 2012 finals."
Source: PA
