Arsenal receive early suspension boost for possible Champions League quarter-final as yellow card rule explained

Arsenal will receive an early Champions League boost for a quarter-final with Sporting Lisbon should they progress past Bayer Leverkusen this evening.

The Gunners or Die Werkself - level pegging at 1-1 following the first leg of their last-16 tie - will face Sporting in the quarters following the Portuguese giants' stunning comeback against Bodo/Glimt.

Sporting were staring down the barrel of elimination after a 3-0 first-leg loss to the Norwegian team, but the Primeira Liga side struck three goals of their own in normal time on Tuesday to force extra time.

Rui Borges's men then completed an astonishing turnaround in the additional 30 minutes, as Maximilian Araujo and Rafael Nel sealed a 5-0 win on the night and 5-3 victory on aggregate.

However, Sporting's colossal comeback did not come without sacrifice, as key midfielder Morten Hjulmand picked up a milestone yellow card which will rule him out of the quarter-final first leg.

Sporting's Morten Hjulmand to miss potential Arsenal quarter-final

© Imago

The Denmark international was on four bookings before Tuesday's second leg, and he was cautioned within just one minute of the second half starting for a yellow card-worthy foul.

Three bookings in the UCL lead to one ban - a threshold that Hjulmand hit in the league phase - and every two subsequent cautions (fifth, seventh etc) also trigger a suspension, so the midfielder will soon serve his second ban of the tournament.

The first leg of that quarter-final clash will take place at Sporting's Estadio da Luz home on either April 7 or 8, but Hjulmand will return for the second leg in either London or Leverkusen the following week.

Twenty-six-year-old Hjulmand has been a cornerstone of the Sporting side for the past three seasons and has made 36 appearances in all tournaments this term, contributing two goals and five assists.

Hjulmand has also served as Sporting captain during the 2025-26 campaign, although Daniel Braganca and Hidemasa Morita are competent alternatives to the Scandinavian.

Could any Arsenal players miss Champions League quarter-final?

© Imago / Sportsphoto

Three Arsenal players have already served Champions League suspensions this season, and all are midfielders - Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino and Declan Rice.

The trio each served one-game suspensions for accumulated yellows in the league phase, but Zubimendi is now at risk of suffering the same fate as Hjulmand.

The Spaniard picked up his fourth yellow card in the first-leg draw with Leverkusen, while Christian Norgaard also sits on two bookings but would not be expected to play a prominent role in the next round.