Rabat – UEFA has approved major regulatory changes for its club competitions, increasing the number of yellow cards required for a suspension and introducing new rules on the use of stadium clocks.
The changes, approved by UEFA’s Executive Committee, will take effect immediately ahead of the 2026-2027 season and apply to the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.
Under the new disciplinary rules, players and team officials will now serve a one-match suspension after accumulating four yellow cards that do not result in a red card during the league phase, instead of the previous threshold of three.
After the initial suspension, further bans will be triggered after every two additional yellow cards, meaning suspensions will occur after the sixth, eighth, tenth yellow cards, and so on.
UEFA said the amendment was introduced following the expansion of the Champions League and Europa League league phases from six to eight matches under the competition’s new format. The governing body argued that keeping the previous three-card limit would have increased the likelihood of suspensions simply because players now compete in more matches.
The same rule will also apply to the UEFA Conference League to ensure consistency across all three men’s club competitions, particularly during the winter transfer window when players can move between clubs participating in different UEFA tournaments.
Before the league phase begins, however, the existing rules remain unchanged. Players and team officials will still receive a suspension after accumulating three yellow cards during the qualifying rounds.
Other changes
In a separate change affecting all UEFA competitions, stadium clocks will now be permitted to display both the time played and the time remaining during matches.
Rather than stopping at the 45th, 90th, 105th, and 120th minutes, stadium displays will now show stoppage time as additional minutes, such as 45+3 or 90+5, instead of leaving fans without a visible match clock once normal time expires.
UEFA said the previous restriction had become outdated due to technological advances, with supporters now able to follow matches in real time on mobile devices and stadium screens.
The governing body has already informed national associations and participating clubs of the regulatory changes ahead of the new European season.
The league phase of the 2026-2027 UEFA Champions League is scheduled to begin on September 8, followed by the Europa League on September 16 and the Conference League on October 15.
