When are yellow cards wiped in the Champions League? Which players could miss the quarter-finals?

With hostilities set to resume for the Round of 16, we take a look at the UCL suspension rules for the 2023/24 campaign.

The Champions League returns on Tuesday with two more second leg Round of 16 ties. Barcelona and Napoli go head-to-head at Montjuïc, while Arsenal take on Porto looking to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit.

With two more finely-poised games to come on Wednesday this promises to be a thrilling week of Champions League action, with big stakes and high pressure in every single match. In that sort of scenario don’t be surprised to see tackles flying in, potentially causing problems for players nearing an automatic one-game suspension.

In the Champions League players can miss crucial knockout games due to an accumulation of yellow cards. We take a look at the UCL suspension rules for 2023/24...

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 Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso in the 2014 Lisbon final.

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 ahead of the semi-finals clears all players’ accumulated cards, making it impossible to miss the final due to accumulation.

Which players could miss the Champions League quarter-finals due to suspension?

As it stands there are several players who head into the second leg of the Round of 16 knowing that they are one yellow card away from a suspension.

There are two players remaining in the competition who have picked up four yellow cards - Ousmane Dembele and Hirving Lozano. Dembele’s Paris Saint-German have already qualified for the quarter-finals but Lozano could miss the first leg of the quarter-finals if PSV Eindhoven see off Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday and he receives another booking. That would be his second suspension of this year’s competition.

Beyond those two, there are a number of players currently on two bookings who would miss the next fixture if they pick up a third this week. Of the teams playing their Round of 16 second leg matches this week, here are the players walking a disciplinary tightrope...

Players who pick up their third, or fifth, yellow card in this week’s Round of 16 fixtures will miss the first leg of their team’s quarter-final, assuming that they progress. There is currently only one player who has picked up a one-match suspension for the quarter-final phases.

Paris Saint-Germain fullback Achraf Hakimi received his third yellow card of the competition last week. The 25-year-old will not be available to feature for the French champions when the Champions League returns in April. PSG eased past Real Sociedad in the Round of 16 and could be dark horses for this year’s competition, despite the ongoing uncertainty regarding superstar forward Kylian Mbappe’s position in the team.