Cristiano Ronaldo will not play for his Portugal national team in at least 2 upcoming games while he battles rape allegations in the United States.
Ronaldo -- arguably the best player in the world -- was left off the roster for an Oct. 11 match against Poland and an Oct. 14 game against Scotland.
The 33-year-old superstar reportedly met with Portugal coach Fernando Santos and Portuguese federation president Fernando Gomes and collectively agreed it was best for Ronaldo to step away for a few games.
While they have not released a statement specifically connecting the absence to the rape case -- it's pretty obvious.
As we previously reported, Ronaldo is being sued by Kathryn Mayorga -- who claims Ronaldo raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room back in 2009.
She had initially filed a police report describing the alleged crime -- but didn't identify Ronaldo by name.
In her lawsuit, Mayorga says she later accepted a $375,000 payment in exchange for her silence -- but now, she wants that agreement voided.
The Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. has also reopened the case -- though no charges have been brought against the soccer star.