Out of the 36 players in the Championship for Stoke City, three must go the entire week without receiving a booking in order to avoid a one-game suspension.
If a second-tier player receives five yellow cards in the first 19 games of the season, they will be suspended automatically. At the conclusion of a three-game week that includes matches against Blackburn Rovers at home and Queens Park Rangers and Plymouth Argyle away, Stoke will have achieved that milestone.
With four bookings in the league thus far, Josh Laurent, Wouter Burger, and Daniel Johnson are all walking a tightrope. Enda Stevens, Luke McNally, and Mehdi Leris have all received three bookings from the first 16 games.
Jordan Thompson and Ben Pearson have already completed their bans after exceeding the five-yellow limit. Now at seven, Pearson will automatically be suspended for two games if he receives ten in the first 37 games of the season. A player will receive a three-match suspension if they receive 15 yellow cards in 46 games. A regulatory commission will decide on a sanction for any player who receives 20 yellow cards.
This season, referees in the top five divisions of English football have issued more warnings to players, putting special emphasis on dissent and time wastage. From the Premier League to the National League, there have been 347 bookings for dissent, up from 165 at this point in the previous season.
Referees have been instructed to “maintain the tough line” by Professional Game Match Officials Limited chief referee Howard Webb this week, according to The Times.
Leave a Reply