Newcastle United star avoids third Premier League ban after West Ham incident & 'loophole'

Newcastle United star Anthony Gordon can sleep easy knowing he has avoided a two-match Premier League ban.

The newly-acclaimed England international is on eight yellow cards for the campaign, and any player who is booked 10 times up to and including their club's 32nd league fixture will be handed an automatic two-match suspension. The visit of Tottenham Hotspur to St James’ Park on Saturday (kick-off 12:30pm) marks the final game of that threshold and Gordon has escaped punishment after avoiding a ninth booking during the weekend victory at Fulham.

Incredibly, the 23-year-old did receive his ninth and 10th caution during the recent 4-3 comeback win over West Ham United, which resulted to him being sent off in stoppage time.

However, because Gordon was shown a red card, he remained on eight bookings and served a one match ban for the visit of his former club Everton three days later.

It has, in many ways, proven to be a loophole in Premier League rules - and Bruno Guimaraes could also benefit.

The Brazilian picked up his ninth yellow card of the campaign during the 3-2 defeat to Manchester City in mid-January but has incredibly gone 10 games without.

If Guimaraes is booked versus Spurs then he will serve a two-match ban. However, if he were to receive two yellows, he would remain on nine for the season and only serve a one-match suspension. The easiest option, of course, would be to avoid a caution altogether.

Guimaraes and Gordon, as well as Kieran Trippier, have already been handed one-match suspensions earlier this season after accumulating five yellow cards in Newcastle's first 19 Premier League matches.

After Spurs, the threshold increases to 15 yellow cards in 38 games, which results in a three-match suspension. That said, no player in Premier League history has ever reached that number.