St Mirren get Olusanya all-clear but could face UEFA charge

St Mirren will have goalscorer Toyosi Olusanya available to face SK Brann in their all-or-nothing European clash next week.

The forward scored a dramatic late equaliser against the Norwegian side at the SMiSA Stadium in the first leg of the Conference League third qualifying round on Thursday, his second goal in three European qualifiers.

But a controversial yellow card for Olusanya, who was also booked in the 4-1 win over Valur in the previous round, led manager Stephen Robinson to believe the player would be banned for next Thursday’s match in Norway.

UEFA have now confirmed that Olusanya will be free to play in the crucial match in Bergen, with a suspension kicking in after three yellow cards, and not two as Robinson had believed.

While the in-form forward will be available, bookings picked up on Thursday night could pose a problem for the Paisley side.

In addition to the yellow card shown to Olusanya, referee Matthew De Gabriele also dished out bookings to Ellery Balcombe, Marcus Fraser, Richard Taylor, Alexander Gogic and Mikael Mandron, as well as manager Stephen Robinson.

UEFA rules state that any team picking up five or more bookings is likely to face further disciplinary action.

The governing body’s disciplinary regulations state: “If a national or club team conducts itself improperly, for example, if yellow or red cards are shown by the referee to either five or more players or a combination of
six or more players and officials (respectively three or more players or a combination of four or more players and officials in the case of futsal) during a match, disciplinary measures may be taken against the member association or club concerned.”

Celtic have been fined for breaking the same rule in the past, while Manchester United were punished for breaching the regulations last season.