PSG suspension latest as Arsenal face Champions League twist due to UEFA rule

Thomas Partey will be the only player serving a one-match ban during the semi-final first legs after several squad members avoided similar suspensions.

picked up an 85th-minute booking during the quarter-final second leg against . That caution was his third of this season's competition, having also received one during the first leg and their 7-1 win over PSV in Eindhoven.

As such, the midfielder misses the visit of PSG due to yellow card accumulation. Their opponents, though, have not had such issues and avoided any further problems from now on in this season's competition.

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That is because of in 's official rulebook: "All yellow cards expire on completion of the quarter-finals. They are not carried forward to the semi-finals."

The two yellow cards that Fabian Ruiz and Ousmane Dembele have collected, plus the three for Marquinhos and Nuno Mendes, now no longer count toward any future suspensions. The former missed the quarter-final first leg against , while the latter was absent in their final league stage game with Stuttgart.

Previous bookings for Achraf Hakimi, Bradley Barcola and Joao Neves are also irrelevant. That is equally the case for several Arsenal players.

is their other squad member to have three cautions, which caused the loanee to miss the quarter-final first leg. Then, in the reverse fixture, , , and avoided the same fate as .

The four are no longer at risk of being suspended for merely receiving a yellow card, even if they, or any of their teammates, do so in both legs of the semi-final. Red cards are now the only way players can miss upcoming matches in the Champions League, including the final in Munich - with the rule providing something of a twist to proceedings ahead of the clash on Tuesday night.