Ahead of the 2023 Canadian Premier League season starting April 15, Canada Soccer made several updates to its disciplinary procedures, which govern on-field and certain other disciplinary matters in the CPL.
Most notably, the CSA amended its yellow card accumulation rule and the Good Behaviour Incentive, which allows players to reduce their total cautions by playing in consecutive matches without receiving a card. The updated rule is below:
Regular Season Cautions and Suspensions
Where a player accumulates four (4) yellow card cautions, the player will be suspended automatically, with immediate effect, for one (1) match. A player who has already been subject to disciplinary action as a result of accumulating four (4) yellow card cautions and then goes on to accumulate further yellow card cautions during the same season, will be subject to the following punishments:
A player who accumulates eight (8) yellow card cautions will receive a two (2) match suspension; a player who accumulates twelve (12) yellow card cautions will receive a three (3) match suspension. Should a player receive fifteen (15) yellow card cautions in the same season they shall be required to attend a meeting of the Disciplinary Panel Committee whose sanctions may include, but are not limited to; reprimand, suspension, financial penalties, or additional sanctions.
Good Behaviour Incentive
Where a player plays in five (5) consecutive league matches without receiving a yellow card, red card, or other discipline sanction arising during such matches, they may automatically reduce the yellow card accumulation total by one yellow card.
New for 2023 season: The “Good Behaviour Incentive” has been updated to begin after a player’s first yellow card, instead of after a player’s third yellow card. The incentive will now also apply up to a maximum of two (2) times in a season instead of only once, however the caution accumulation total can only reset to zero at the lowest and never a negative number. This does not apply to cautions received in the Canadian Championship. For the avoidance of doubt “plays” means actually enters the field of play either as a starter or a substitute. Further if the consecutive run is broken for any reason the five count starts again from the next time the player plays.
Coaches, Team Officials, Club Staff Members
If a Team Official accumulates two (2) cautions they will be automatically issued a monetary fine. A Team Official who has already been subject to disciplinary action as a result of accumulating two (2) cautions and then goes on to accumulate further cautions in the same season will be subject to the following sanctions:
- If a Team Official accumulates three (3) cautions in senior and/or reserve team league competitions, the Team Official will be suspended automatically with immediate effect from all senior and reserve league matches and open friendly matches, until such time as the Team Official has missed their club’s next one (1) senior team match in approved competitions.
- If a Team Official accumulates four (4) cautions in senior and/or reserve team league competitions, they will be suspended automatically until they have missed their club’s next two (2) senior team matches in approved competitions.
- If a Team Official accumulates more than four (4) cautions in senior and/or reserve team league competitions in the same season they will be required to attend a meeting of the Disciplinary Panel, which shall have the power to deal with the Team Official in such manner as they deem fit. The same procedure will apply for every further caution recorded against a Team Official.
CPL Playoffs Caution Accumulation Reset
New for the 2023 season: Caution accumulation will reset at the conclusion of the regular season meaning all caution accumulation suspensions will not carry over from the regular season to the playoffs.
Also new in Canada Soccer’s 2023 disciplinary procedure is that the standard suspension for serious foul play has been reduced from three matches to two.
For more information on disciplinary procedures and other protocols in the Canadian Premier League, visit the Competition Guidelines page here.