Darwin Nunes is now ruled out of Manchester United and Arsenal clashes as Liverpool’s Premier League yellow card pardon looms.
The Merseyside club, who faced the joy of referee Andy Madeley’s booking in Liverpool’s win over Crystal Palace, can breathe a sigh of relief after two of their key players were left off the referee’s list.
The Reds went top of the Premier League table with a 2-1 win over the 10-man Eagles thanks to late goals from Mohamed Salah and Harvey Elliott.
Joe Gomez and Luis Diaz were the only Liverpool players to receive yellow cards from Madeley. Virgil van Dijk’s first yellow card for a foul on Odsonne Edouard was later overturned after a VAR review revealed a Will Hughes foul on Wataru Endo.
At the end of the game, Palace were dealt eight cards, including one from manager Roy Hodgson. Jordan Ayew was sent off after two yellow cards. Also in yellow are Joel Ward, Joachim Andersen, Chris Richards, Jefferson Lerma and Nauiro Ahamada.
Palace were therefore automatically fined $31,000 (£25,000/€29,000) by the FA for their offence.Ayew is currently serving a one-game ban for his dismissal, while Ward is serving an automatic one-game ban after picking up four yellow cards this season.
Heading into a festive season, Liverpool avoided this form of punishment.Under Premier League rules, a player who receives five yellow cards in his club’s first 19 games of the season will be suspended for one match.
If a player receives 10 yellow cards in a match in Week 32, he or she will be suspended for two games. A total of 15 bookings for three matches will be suspended until the end of the season.
The match against Palace was the 16th game of the season for both teams. This means players will have to play three more games before being sent off to avoid a fifth yellow card and subsequent suspension.
Alexis McAllister has already been suspended for one match after picking up five yellow cards, while Trent Alexander-Arnold and Darwin Nunes each received three yellow cards. After successfully avoiding bookings against Crystal Palace, both players were guaranteed to miss important Premier League games against Manchester United and Arsenal, but seeing red against Erik Ten Hag could have seen them miss the final.
Man, was he sent off in the Carabao Cup against West Ham. Both players would have missed Liverpool’s Boxing Day trip to Burnley had they been booked for two league games. In addition, Gomez, Endo and Ibrahim Konate have received two yellow cards in the Premier League this season.
If these three players receive yellow cards in each of Liverpool’s next three games, they will be suspended for the home game against Newcastle United on New Year’s Day before the Premier League’s first amnesty comes into effect.
Liverpool have yet to completely rule out the threat of further suspensions, and with the New Year’s clash with Newcastle just around the corner, Jurgen Klopp is encouraged by his side’s success in overcoming possible bans in crucial games against Manchester United and Arsenal.
The finals are very important because they can be the match that determines the top ranking.
According to Liverpool.com, Liverpool refused to give in to a disorganized approach from Hodgson. It could be important that everyone is ready to face Arsenal. Klopp’s side have struggled for discipline this season after receiving frequent red cards at the start of the season.
But with one gone and at least one very doubtful thing to come, it looks like that has more to do with management than Liverpool’s change of heart.
