Sandro Tonali faces a lengthy Premier League ban for Newcastle United following Liverpool incident

Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali might face a Premier League ban after receiving his fourth booking of the season against Liverpool.

Tonali received a yellow card in the 58th minute of the 3-3 draw with Liverpool at St James’ Park for a tackle on Curtis Jones. It means the Italian is just one more yellow card away from a one-game suspension.

Premier League rules indicate that any player who receives five bookings in the first 19 games of the season shall face a one-game suspension.

Fabian Schar and Joelinton are both treading a disciplinary tightrope with four cards each, while Dan Burn has served his suspension after receiving his fifth booking at Nottingham Forest last month.

Schar, Joelinton, and Tonali must avoid further Premier League bookings until matchday 20 to avoid suspension. After serving his term, Burn must avoid receiving 10 yellow cards in 32 games or he will be suspended for two games.

If Tonali, Joelinton, or Schar are booked against Brentford on Saturday (3pm kick-off), they will miss Newcastle’s next Premier League match against Leicester City at St James’ Park the following week.

Newcastle’s 20th game of the Premier League season is away to Tottenham Hotspur on January 4, 2025, and head coach Eddie Howe has revealed that additional suspensions in his team are ‘likely’ to occur before then.

Other Newcastle players are also in risk of a ban if they do not maintain their discipline in the future games.

Lewis Hall must avoid receiving another two yellow cards in Newcastle’s next five games after been booked three times this season, while Bruno Guimaraes, Sean Longstaff, Joe Willock, Lloyd Kelly, and Nick Pope have all been booked twice.

Jacob Murphy, Anthony Gordon, and Callum Wilson each have one yellow card.

After 19 games, five bookings, and a one-match punishment, the bar increases to 10 bookings, 32 games, and a two-match ban. Joelinton was the latest Newcastle player to be suspended for two matches after receiving ten yellow cards during the 2022-23 season.

Any player who receives 15 bookings during the season is given a three-match punishment, although no player has ever been cautioned that many times in a single Premier League campaign.