Newcastle United handed £43m boost v Arsenal after EFL rules banned key duo

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Newcastle United host Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at St James’ Park on Wednesday evening (8pm kick-off).

The Magpies take a 2-0 lead into the second leg against The Gunners and will be hoping to reach a second Carabao Cup final in the last three seasons. But after being stung previously by suspensions in the competition, there are some questions worth answering ahead of Wednesday’s crucial cup match.

Newcastle were without Bruno Guimaraes and Fabian Schar due to suspension in the first leg. This was because the duo picked up bookings in the 3-1 quarter-final win over Brentford in December.

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Carabao Cup rules state that any player booked twice in the competition before the semi-final stage is handed a one-match ban. As Guimaraes and Schar had been booked in earlier rounds, their yellows against Brentford ruled them out of the first leg against Arsenal but they are back available for selection in the second leg.

Sean Longstaff also served a similar ban, missing the Brentford game. But after the quarter-final stage the suspension rules are effectively lifted, meaning no Newcastle player will miss the second leg or potential final due to suspension unless a red card suspension carries over from the Premier League.

Unlike yellow card suspensions, red card suspensions apply to all competitions. Earlier this season, Schar was handed a three-match ban for a straight red card against Southampton in the Premier League and had to miss the Carabao Cup second-round match at Nottingham Forest as he served his suspension.

While Schar was handed a three-match ban, he only missed two matches in the Premier League plus the cup game.

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Tino Livramento, Joelinton & Anthony Gordon booked v Arsenal - are they at risk?

Tino Livramento, Anthony Gordon and Joelinton were all booked in the first leg last month, causing concern over whether they’d miss the second leg or subsequent final, should Newcastle get there.

While Joelinton is an injury doubt for the match, Livramento and Gordon are expected to be available at St James’ Park. And any bookings on Wednesday night would not impact a player’s availability for the final.

Even a straight red card would not suspend a player for the Carabao Cup final. In Newcastle’s case, any sent-off player would miss the upcoming matches against Birmingham City in the FA Cup followed by Manchester City and Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

But if any player is sent off in the Premier League or FA Cup within three games of the Carabao Cup final, they would be suspended for the final.

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Newcastle’s previous run to the Carabao Cup final in 2023 has some good examples. Bruno Guimaraes was sent off in the semi-final second leg against Southampton and banned for three Premier League matches before being back available for the final. But Nick Pope was suspended for the final after picking up a straight red card in the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League.

The same rules also apply in the FA Cup where any player who is booked twice before the semi-final stage is banned for one match in the competition but red cards transcend competitions. Newcastle travel to Birmingham City in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday (5:45pm kick-off).

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