The 2022 World Cup is underway and there have already been a number of bookings in the first round of fixtures as tensions rise and clumsy challenges are made.
A total of 52 yellow cards were handed out in the first 16 games in Qatar and this has now raised plenty of questions over the current suspension rules surrounding the tournament and how they differ from regular domestic action.
Mirror Football tells you all you need to know about the rules and regulations at the World Cup, including how many yellow cards a player needs to be suspended and how many games they could miss out on.
Yellow card and red card rules
In the Premier League, a player is allowed to pick up five separate bookings across the season before they receive a one match ban. However, the World Cup rules are slightly different.
A player is only allowed to pick up two bookings across the tournament before they receive a one match ban in the next game. As usual, however, two bookings in the same game will also see a player sent off, before missing the next game through suspension.
If a player is shown a straight red card during a game, they will also be handed a one match ban. However, depending on the nature of the red card, additional sanctions can be added by FIFA if necessary.
What do you make of the suspension rules at the 2022 World Cup? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Knockout rounds
If a player picks up their second booking of the tournament in their final group game, or receives a straight red card, then they will miss the next fixture in the last 16.
The same rule also applies for the last 16 fixtures. If a player happens to pick up their second yellow card of the tournament in the round of 16, they will miss the quarter-finals should they make it to that stage.
However, yellow cards and suspension are reset after the quarter-final stage, meaning anyone who has already picked up a booking in the group stage, the last 16 and the quarter-finals will see their record wiped out.
Why are booking records reset?
A player's booking record will be reset after the quarter final and before the semi final to ensure that nobody will miss a World Cup final because of suspension.
If a player picks up their second yellow card of the tournament in the quarter-final, they will not be suspended for the semi-finals, while a second booking of the tournament in the semi-finals would not mean they miss the final.
However, if they were awarded a straight red card in the semi-final, then they will still have to miss the final through suspension.
