Champions League suspension rules explained with one Liverpool player at risk of a ban
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones goes into tonight’s Champions League fixture against Qarabag at risk of receiving a one-match suspension, should he play in the match and pick up a yellow card.
The Reds require a victory at Anfield to guarantee a direct passage to the round of 16, and Arne Slot could certainly do with a win and a convincing performance to ease some of the growing pressure on him amid an underwhelming start to 2026 for his team.
The Merseysiders have been among the more disciplined teams in the Champions League this season, with only three of the other 35 competing sides accumulating fewer than their tally of eight yellow cards ahead of the concluding league phase matchday (WhoScored).
UEFA’s Champions League suspension rules explained
The rules regarding suspensions in European club competition are set out in Article 63 of UEFA’s regulations for the tournament, with players and team officials incurring a one-match ban if they accrue three yellow cards before completion of the quarter-finals, at which juncture all disciplinary records are wiped.
There’s also the possibility of further suspension being triggered for ‘any subsequent odd-numbered caution’ after exceeding the three-game mark (i.e. if a player were to collect a fifth booking before the conclusion of the quarter-finals, they would receive another one-match ban).
At present, the only two Liverpool players on multiple yellow cards are Jones and Conor Bradley (WhoScored), and that’s now a moot point in the case of the latter due to a serious injury which’ll sideline him for the rest of this season.
Jones is currently the only Liverpool player at risk of suspension
While the Reds have far greater disciplinary scope than most other teams in the Champions League at present, the risk of suspension for our number 17 presents Slot with a dilemma for tonight’s match.
Does he start the 24-year-old and run the risk of him being banned for our first knockout fixture, or will he be mindful that fellow midfielders Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister are already on one booking each and could be walking a tightrope if they are booked against Qarabag.
If Liverpool had the luxury of being guaranteed a top-eight finish (like they were at this point last season), any players with yellow cards to their name could conceivable be consigned to the bench or even rested altogether.
Alas, with the Reds still needing a win to make sure of avoiding an unwanted two-legged play-off in February, Slot will need to go with a strong line-up from the outset, in the hope that his team can get to the 60-minute mark in a sufficiently comfortable position to make safety-first substitutions then.
After the completion of the league phase tonight, we’ll have a much better idea of LFC’s prospective route to the final once the knockout brackets are determined. Hopefully we can go into our subsequent European fixture with no major risk of losing a crucial player through suspension.
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