Three Wolves players stand on the brink of a one-match suspension due to a stringent regulation enforced by the Premier League.
Wolves have endured a woeful season start, clinching only one point from their initial seven matches—a result stemming from a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest. With supporters vocally demanding Fosun’s retreat from Molineux and mounting pressure on manager Gary O’Neil, the Wolves’ future looms uncertain.
Despite clinching only one victory in his last 17 Premier League bouts, confoundedly sparing him from the axe, the Golden Oldies steadfastly place their trust in O’Neil to steer the ship back on course.
In their six defeats this season, the Wanderers have displayed a lack of discipline, racking up the third-highest number of yellow cards in the league (22), trailing solely behind Chelsea (27) and Manchester United (24). The Wolves players find themselves teetering on the verge of suspension due to the yellow card rule.
In the upper echelons of English football, players facing five yellow cards automatically trigger a one-game suspension, applicable only to league encounters. This mandates that any Carabao Cup or FA Cup game sandwiched between league fixtures would allow the player in question to participate.
As of now, 11 Wolves players have incurred cards this season, with several walking a suspension tightrope. Rayan Ait-Nouri, Nelson Semedo, and Joao Gomes have each accumulated three yellow cards, looming closest to suspension, while recent acquisitions Andre and Carlos Forbs, along with Toti Gomes, Mario Lemina, and the injured Yerson Mosquera, have garnered two.
Among the Wanderers, Ait-Nouri, Semedo, and Gomes face the highest risk of a one-match ban, while amassing 10 yellow cards would trigger a two-match penalty. O’Neil anxiously hopes no suspension disrupts his already thin squad.
When does the Premier League reset the yellow card count? For Wolves’ players flirting with suspension, the slate wipes clean after the first 19 games of the season, permitting O’Neil’s men four bookings before the cut-off to evade a ban.
Since only seven matchweeks have passed and numerous Wolves players hover at three yellow cards, it appears improbable that none of them may avert amassing five yellows—particularly with survival stakes heightening at the bottom end.
Should one of O’Neil’s assets accrue 10 yellow cards before the 33rd matchday, a two-match suspension awaits them, a possibility fervently anticipated not to play out by Wolves fans who bank on fielding their finest to stave off relegation.
