UEFA announce Champions League rule change that Premier League fans have seen for years

UEFA are set to shake things up next season and have announced two rule changes ahead of the Champions League campaign.

The league phase will officially get underway on September 8. Before then, however, the final qualifying rounds need to take place – starting later this month.

Clubs like Celtic will compete to earn their place in the Champions League ‘proper’, with Martin O’Neill’s side tasked with overcoming Austrian outfit LASK over two legs later this month.

It’s a season which could be full of history, starting with the reigning champions. Paris Saint-Germain have the chance to repeat Real Madrid’s feat by winning the Champions League in three consecutive seasons if they make it to the final and win at the Metropolitano Stadium on June 5.

UEFA announce two Champions League rule changes

PSG will have to face up to two new rule changes if they are to cement legendary status, and the same can be said for British clubs as Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and others look to secure history of their own in UEFA competitions.

As per The Mirror, UEFA have contacted clubs to inform them about two new rule changes taking place in the 2026/27 season.

The first rule centres around bookings, with the threshold raised before a player serves a one-match suspension. A player will now receive a suspension once they receive four yellow cards, raised from three last season.

The second rule change is one that Premier League sides are already accustomed to and centres around in-stadium clocks. From this season onwards, UEFA will remove its long-standing regulation that prevented clocks on European nights moving beyond 45 and 90 minutes.

REUTERS/Peter Powell

Match organisers were previously unable to display the elapsed time once the original period of each half had run out. The same applied to extra-time. Now, things are changing.

Premier League fans will already be used to this, since England’s top-flight subtly introduced the clock changes two years ago. UEFA have now followed suit for its competitions.

The two new rules will be in place across all stadiums in the Champions League this season.

REUTERS/Lee Smith

There’s still a lot of work for several British clubs to do before they can experience those rule changes. Celtic face Austrian side LASK for a Champions League place, while Rangers and Hearts have both discovered their route through Europa League qualifying.

Rangers need to see off Jagiellonia Bialystok before a possible tie with Larne or Tbilisi, and Hearts, having dropped down from Champions League qualifying, face Benfica with AGF Aarhus or Sabah waiting in the play-off round.

Brighton’s Conference League campaign continues against CFR Cluj or Tromso, while Motherwell and Hibernian both have Conference League play-off spots on the line too – the former must beat HJK and then Freiburg while Hibs will face Gent or IFK Gothenburg if they beat Shkendija.

Crucially, both Rangers and Hearts have a safety net: lose their Europa League qualifiers and they’ll parachute into the Conference League play-offs instead.