When it comes to football matches, knockout games are amongst the most fun from a viewer’s point of view. That is especially the case if they go to a penalty shoot-out, provided you don’t actually support either of the teams taking part. If you do, penalties become a fraught affair, feeling incredibly nerve-wracking and full of suspense.
One thing that many people might not realise, however, is that bookings given during the match that precedes a penalty shoot-out are not carried over into the shoot-out itself, meaning that if a player is shown a second yellow card at that stage, they won’t be sent off.
What the Rules Say
Anyone who knows anything about football will know that the Laws of the Game in the modern era are dictated according to the International Football Association Board. IFAB, as the organisation is commonly referred to as, are the game’s lawmakers and the situation around cards in penalty shoot-outs is outlined in law 10.3. That law says that ‘warnings and cautions used to players and team officials during the match are not carried forward into penalties (penalty shoot-out).’ It is something that many supporters (and even some commentators) might not be aware of.
In other words, you can have been given a booking in the 90 minutes plus stoppage time or even extra-time of the game proper, but a second yellow card issued during the penalty shoot-out period will not result in a player being sent off. You shouldn’t be too confused, though, as a player who has been sent off during the game can’t then come back on for penalties. Equally, red cards can still be shown during the shoot-out, even for two yellow card offences, but the two offences have to have been committed during the shoot-out itself. There is a disciplinary clean slate at the start of the shoot-out.
The Emiliano Martínez Incident
During a quarter-final of the UEFA Europa Conference League in the 2023-2024 season, Aston Villa were playing against the French side Lille in the second-leg. Villa were playing away from home, where the local supporters saw the English team’s goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez, shown a yellow card during the match proper after he was guilty of time-wasting. When the game finished level on aggregate at the end of the second-leg’s period of extra-time, it went to a penalty shoot-out. Martínez saved the first attempt from Lille, after which he turned around and began shushing the home supporters.
Emi Martinez silences the Lille fans by saving the first penalty 🧤
Then looks to get a second yellow from the referee?! 🤯
But doesn’t get sent off 😬#UECL
📺 @TNTSports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/qU76fw9AGs
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 18, 2024
His teammate Ollie Watkins stepped up to take a spot kick for the Villains, but the Argentinian shot-stopper continued to antagonise the home fans. This resulted in the match referee, Slovakian Ivan Kruzliak, going over to Martínez and showing him another yellow card. The home supporters all cheered, presuming that this meant that he was going to be shown a red card, whilst the Aston Villa captain, Douglas Luiz, rushed towards the referee to try to prevent him from showing the yellow card and the TNT Sports commentators were bemused as to why he wasn’t given his marching orders.
Why it Was Brought In
The idea of a goalkeeper not being sent off for a second yellow card shown during a penalty shoot-out, even if they have been shown one in the game itself, was brought in at the same time as a crackdown on goalkeepers coming off their line to save the penalties in said shoot-out. The fear was that goalkeepers doing that repeatedly would end up being sent off if cautioned, which seemed like a punishment that far outstripped the crime. Referees wanted to still be able to caution a goalkeeper for coming off their line without the nuclear option of a red card following, hence this rule was brought in.
The situation around suspensions for two yellow cards after the match is over is also a bit confusing. In the case of Martínez, for example, UEFA did confirm that the player would not be available for selection in the first-leg of the club’s Europa Conference League match against Olympiacos in the semi-finals, but not because of the two yellow cards he was shown. Instead, Martínez was issued with a suspension because he had been shown three yellow cards during the competition as a whole. The rules state that ‘repeated cautions’ will result in a suspension, with that being Martínez’s third yellow card.