UEFA rules mean that, while Arsenal have lost Thomas Partey due to a suspension for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final with Paris Saint-Germain, four of their star players are now safe from suspension.
Mikel Arteta ’s side stand to be without several players due to injury, but thanks to UEFA rulings on yellow cards, they do not have players on the edge of suspension.
Heading into Arsenal ’s second leg fixture against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu, Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Martinelli and Partey found themselves walking a disciplinary tightrope, having picked up two bookings each throughout the tournament.
Of these, it was Partey who picked up a needless yellow card late on in the game after shoving Dani Ceballos, meaning he’s now out of the PSG semi-final first leg this evening. This has left Arteta with a midfield selection headache as Jorginho, and potentially Mikel Merino are out of the fixture through injury.
Rice was quick to berate the Ghanaian on the pitch, clearly aware that the pointless yellow card meant he was now suspended for a game.
While in the Premier League suspensions happen at the five, ten and 15 mark for yellow cards, in European competitions they happen at the three, five and seven mark. Receiving three yellow cards typically results in a one-match suspension.
What will be even more frustrating for Arteta is that the conclusion of the quarter-finals sees any existing yellow cards wiped out.
Article 52.04 of UEFA’s rulebook states: "Exceptionally, all yellow cards and pending yellow-card suspensions expire on completion of the play-offs.
"They are not carried forward to the group stage. In addition, all yellow cards expire on completion of the quarter-finals. They are not carried forward to the semi-finals."
This means that, from now, the only way that an Arsenal player can be suspended is by getting sent off in either of the next two games. No amount of individual yellow cards, other than two in the same game, would see a player have to miss a match.
Rice, Timber, Martinelli and PSG’s Fabian Ruiz are now safe from yellow card suspension, despite having picked up two throughout the competition.
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya received his second booking of the campaign during the second leg and will also benefit from the UEFA rule.
Arsenal face PSG in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on April 29 and fans can watch it free with an Amazon Prime subscription or by signing up for a 30-day free trial.
More Champions League fixtures are available on TNT Sports via Discovery+ Premium.
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