Question Number: 28342

League Specific 4/15/2014

RE: College

Vignesh Sriram of Chennai, Tamil Nadu India asks...

There is this 10 yellows = 2 match suspension rule with the cutoff date being the second Sunday in April, right ?

My doubt is that, if the player does get his 10th caution and hasn't received a single red card the season, and in the game in which he gets his 10th caution, if he gets a second yellow and is sent off, or even a straight red for a professional foul, will it still be a two match ban for having received 10 yellows or will it be a single game ?

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Vignesh
If the player is sent off with a straight red card that offence will be dealt with in its own right. So if a player is sent off for serious foul play that player can expect to serve a three game ban.
If the player is sent off for two cautions he will likely miss the next game provided he has not been sent off before in the season.
Those cautions do not count towards the cautions total. However another caution and the player can expect to be suspended for two further games for reaching 10 and he will be warned about his future conduct.

Answer provided by Referee Dennis Wickham

These are local rules of competition, and each can vary in how they treat this. Many do not count the 'second yellow' in a match in the calculation because the resulting red card comes with its own suspension.