Premier League suspension rules: Which players are suspended or close to ban?

Premier League players risk suspension through yellow card accumulation and red card dismissals, but which individuals are closest to bans in 2026/27?

The first punishment for yellow card accumulation is a one-match ban, to be enforced within or immediately after the first 19 Premier League matches of the 2026/27 term.

To receive such a suspension, the player in question must earn five bookings in the Premier League’s first half, with a second punishment introduced before Gameweek 33.

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Explained: Suspensions in the 2026/27 Premier League

According to The FA’s Disciplinary Rules, a player who receives five bookings in the Premier League’s first 19 gameweeks will receive a one-match ban, and a two-game suspension is possible come Gameweek 32.

To receive that ban, a player must accumulate ten yellow cards up to and including their club’s 32nd Premier League match of the 2026/27 term.

Therefore, five bookings in their club’s first 19 matches equals a one-match ban, and ten yellow cards in the Premier League’s first 32 gameweeks equals a two-match suspension.

Finally, if a player accumulates 15 bookings across all 38 matches of the 2026/27 Premier League season, they will receive a three-game ban.

Should someone rack up 20 or more yellow cards in an entire English top-flight campaign, their punishment would be decided by a Regulatory Commission.

These punishments extend solely to the Premier League, and are not carried across into the Carabao or FA Cups. Therefore, each offending player will miss English top-flight matches, not cup fixtures.

For red card dismissals, different actions lead to different bans. If a player denies the opposing team a goal or obvious goal-scoring opportunity by a handball offence, they will receive a one-match ban, as they would by receiving two yellow cards in the same game.

Denying a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent whose overall movement is towards the offender’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick is also punished by a one-game suspension.

Serious foul play prompts a three-match ban, and spitting at an opponent or any other person will see the offending player miss six games.

Violent conduct leads to a three-game suspension, and using offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures will see the player miss two matches.

Unlike yellow card accumulation bans, the suspension period for red cards covers the Premier League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup.

Therefore, if a player sees red in the Premier League, and their club’s next match is in the FA Cup, they will miss the game as part of their suspension period.

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Which Premier League players are suspended or close to bans?

Five Premier League players will be absent from matches this weekend, having seen red in previous top-flight outings.

Brentford's Vitaly Janelt and Sunderland's Kevin Danso will both be missing in their respective Gameweek 8 fixtures, while Brentford's Yehor Yarmoliuk and Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon will miss both this week and next.

Tottenham Hotspur's Rodrigo Bentancur was absent in Gameweek 7 for the North London club, and will also miss Spurs' next two matches.

Each club has now played seven matches in the English top-flight this term, and four players are in serious danger of receiving one-match Premier League suspensions.

All four have racked up four yellow cards in the top-flight; another booking in any of their next 12 Premier League games will lead to one-game bans.

Those players are Matt Crooks and Oli McBurnie at Hull City, Vitaly Janelt at Bournemouth, and Igor Thiago at Brentford.

Breakdown: Yellow and red cards for each Premier League club in 2026/27

1) Hull City: 21 yellow cards

-- Bournemouth: 21 yellow cards

3) Newcastle United: 19 yellow cards

4) Brentford: 18 yellow cards, 2 red cards

5) Liverpool: 17 yellow cards, 1 red card

6) Nottingham Forest: 16 yellow cards

7) Brighton: 15 yellow cards, 1 red card

8) Fulham: 14 yellow cards, 1 red card

-- Aston Villa: 14 yellow cards, 1 red card

10) Chelsea: 13 yellow cards

-- Leeds: 13 yellow cards

12) Sunderland: 12 yellow cards, 2 red cards

-- Ipswich: 12 yellow cards, 1 red card

-- Everton: 12 yellow cards

-- Manchester United: 12 yellow cards

16) Crystal Palace: 9 yellow cards, 1 red card

-- Manchester City: 9 yellow cards, 1 red card

-- Tottenham Hotspur: 9 yellow cards, 1 red card

-- Arsenal: 9 yellow cards

20) Coventry City: 8 yellow cards, 1 red card

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