The Xabi Rule

Or as UEFA refers to it, the yellow card accumulation rule (or something boring like that). When Xabi missed out playing in this year’s Champions League final because he had accrued too many yellow cards, there was a lot of proverbial ink (and cursing) generated around the need for this particular rule to change. Xabi and others publicly challenged UEFA to make a change and UEFA responded favorably to that challenge back in July.

 

The Official UEFA announcement:

Following a recommendation by the UEFA Club Competitions Committee – in order to implement in UEFA club competitions a rule which is already in force in the UEFA European Football Championship – the Emergency Panel decided that, as of this season, all yellow cards from the beginning of the group stage will expire on completion of the quarter-finals. Bookings will therefore not be carried forward to the semi-finals.

Hoo-ray! Hoo-ray!

This rule was first employed by UEFA back at Euro 2012, and it is fantastic they are now putting it into play for major club competitions. Better late than never, I suppose. They could have done it for 2012-13, and they could have changed it for 2013-14. But nooooo. So I say all teams and players and fans need to thank King Xabi for his momentary lapse in judgement which resulted in that unfortunate yellow card in the quarterfinal and which triggered what I now affectionately call “The Xabi Rule”.

One Xabi to rule us all.

-hopechaser