UEFA rules set to ban Newcastle United star in Champions League after Union SG incident - on one condition
Newcastle United have a couple of players under threat of a Champions League suspension following Wednesday’s 4-0 win against Union Saint-Gilloise.
Newcastle United beat Union Saint-Gilloise 4-0 in the Champions League at Lotto Park in Brussels on Wednesday night.
Nick Woltemade and substitute Harvey Barnes scored either side of two Anthony Gordon penalties in Belgium.
The match passed without any real drama as Newcastle strolled to their biggest ever Champions League win.
The only blot on an otherwise perfect evening for Eddie Howe’s side in Belgium was a yellow card issued to a usual suspect.
Joelinton was booked in the first half of the game for a foul on Union SG’s Anan Khalaili. And after his booking in Newcastle’s 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League, the Brazilian is already walking a disciplinary tightrope in the competition.
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UEFA suspension rules explained
Newcastle’s opening Champions League match against Barcelona saw Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg show yellow cards to Joelinton and Dan Burn.
Joelinton was then the only Newcastle player booked in the Union SG match to take his tally to two yellows in as many matches.
UEFA rules on yellow card suspensions read: “From the first match in the league phase, players and team officials are suspended for the next competition match after three cautions, that did not result in a red card, as well as after any subsequent odd-numbered caution (fifth, seventh, ninth, etc.).”
That means one more booking for Joelinton in any of Newcastle’s next six Champions League group phase matches will see him banned for one match in the competition. Meanwhile, two more bookings for Burn over the same period would see him banned.
With six games still to play and Joelinton’s reputation for picking up bookings, it is likely the Newcastle midfielder will be banned at some point should he remain fit.
Rules on red card suspensions read: “As a rule, a player or team official sent off by the referee is automatically suspended for the next match in a UEFA club competition (i.e. UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League or UEFA Super Cup). In the event of a serious offence, the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body is entitled to augment this punishment, including by extending it to other competitions.”
Suspensions in European competitions do not carry over into domestic matches. This means any player banned from UEFA competitions can still play in the Premier League. The same rule applies to domestic bans as well as with Newcastle allowed to play Anthony Gordon against Barcelona while he was serving a suspension in the Premier League.
Newcastle United Champions League fixtures
After taking three points from their opening two matches in the Champions League, Newcastle host Benfica at St James’ Park later this month. They then face Athletic Club at home before back-to-back trips to Marseille and Bayer Leverkusen.