Top-seeded Sporting Kansas City will be without a key player when the club visits Portland on Sunday for the first leg of the Western Conference Championship, slated for 6:30 p.m. CT on FS1, FOX Deportes, Sports Radio 810 WHB and ESPN Deportes KC 1480 AM.
Forward Diego Rubio will serve a one-game suspension for caution accumulation this weekend, having picked up a yellow card in both legs of Sporting KC's conference semifinal victory over Real Salt Lake.
So why does Rubio have to miss out? The Audi MLS Cup Playoffs bring with them a unique set of disciplinary guidelines, as outlined below.
Playoff Disciplinary Guidelines
Once the postseason begins and up until MLS Cup, a player who accumulates two yellow cards in the playoffs will be suspended for the next playoff match for which he is eligible.
The lone exception to the above is MLS Cup. If a player earns his second postseason yellow card in the final leg of the conference championship, he is still eligible to play in MLS Cup. For the avoidance of doubt, playoff yellow card accumulation resets entering MLS Cup.
Players can, however, miss MLS Cup for receiving a red card (or two yellow cards) in the second leg of the conference championship. Any player who earns a red card in a playoff match, whether a straight red card or two yellow cards, is suspended for his next match.
Disciplinary Report for #PORvSKC
That brings us back to the conference finals between Sporting KC and Portland. Rubio is the only player on either team suspended due to caution accumulation.
However, one Sporting KC player and four Portland players are currently on caution accumulation warnings. That means these five players have already received a yellow card during the playoffs and will miss the second leg of the Western Conference Championship if they get booked on Sunday at Providence Park.
The following five players will miss next Thursday's second leg if they receive a yellow card on Sunday.
- Portland midfielder Diego Chara
- Portland midfielder Andres Flores
- Portland defender Liam Ridgewell
- Portland midfielder Diego Valeri
- Sporting KC midfielder Roger Espinoza
Keep in mind: any of the five players who avoid a yellow card on Sunday no longer have to worry about missing a playoff match due to caution accumulation. For example, if Roger Espinoza isn't booked in the first leg but receives a yellow card in the second leg, he will still be eligible to play in MLS Cup should Sporting KC advance. It bears repeating that players cannot miss MLS Cup due to caution accumulation.
For the full list of playoff disciplinary guidelines, click here.
