When are yellow cards wiped in the Champions League? Which players could miss the round of 16?

The Champions League is about to close off the group stage, and with just the last matchday to be played we already have 12 teams qualified for the knockout stages, including the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City and Bayern Munich. As well as the final four places to be determined, other aspects such as group winners and those that drop into the Europa League by finishing third remain doubts in some groups.

As these final matchdays of the group stage approach, heralding the start of the most crucial and complex phase of the competition, eyes turn to when the round of 16 draw takes place, and also speculation begins about suspension of players after yellow card accumulation. How the process works, when the reset button is pressed, and whether it’s worth trying to force them in the final group game to avoid missing key matches ahead. We take a look...

Full screen

When are yellow cards wiped in the Champions League?

In the UEFA Champions League, yellow cards are reset once the quarter-finals are concluded. This rule was implemented in the 2014/2015 season to prevent players from missing the Champions League final due to accumulated yellow cards, as happened to Xabi Alonso in the 2014 Lisbon final, the latest of many such cases.

A player is suspended for the following game in the Champions League when they accumulate a total of three yellow cards. Following this initial suspension, any odd number of cards (five, seven, etc.) will result in a one-match ban for the player in question.

If a player receives a yellow card that results in suspension in the second leg of the quarter-finals, and their team advances, they will be unable to play in the first leg of the semi-finals. The reset for the semi-finals clears all players’ accumulated cards, making it impossible to miss the final due to accumulation. However, players who would have served a suspension in the first leg of the semi-finals are not automatically freed from that suspension.

Full screen

Which players can miss the Champions League round of 16 due to suspension?

In this 2023/24 edition of the Champions League, there are several players who head into the final matchday with two accumulated yellow cards, and if they receive another booking, they would miss their next European match. Here is the complete list of players walking the booking tightrope, and we’ll make no assertions as to who may choose to fall off deliberately for tactical reasons.

2023/24 UEFA Champions League group stage matchday six: fixtures, dates, kick-off times, standings