Explained: Why Aston Villa's Emi Martinez was not sent off for second yellow card in ECL match

It was all chaos in the Europa Conference League (EUCL) on Thursday (April 18) evening when Aston Villa beat Lille in the quarterfinal clash on penalties. A night that will go down in the memories for multiple reasons, saw Argentine World Cup winner Emi Martinez turn into a cult hero after saving two vital penalties in the shootout. However, one move that caught everyone’s attention was the referee’s decision to show Martinez two yellow cards and yet not show a red card.

Why was Martinez not sent off?

As a known fact in football, any player receiving two yellow cards during a match gets an automatic red card and has to leave the field with immediate effect. Similarly, Martinez was booked in the 39th minute of the match leading to him being one more card away from a red card. After the match had finished 3-3 on aggregate and 2-1 on the night, the match went into extra time. Martinez was at fault again for his gestures and was booked again during the shootout, assuming every fan that he would be sent off.

But Martinez remained on the pitch. This was not a refereeing mistake and instead the consequence of a recent rule change.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) recently changed their regulations regarding yellow cards for penalty shoot-outs, deciding that all cautions handed out to players and coaches during regular time would not be carried forward to the spot kicks.

The rule, IFAB law 10 (determining the outcome of a match), states that: «Warnings and cautions (YCs) issued during the match (including during extra time) are not carried forward into kicks from the penalty mark (KFPM).»

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The Argentine