What are the best practices for handling player suspensions in a PHP script for a sports game?

When handling player suspensions in a PHP script for a sports game, it is important to store the suspension details in a database table, check the suspension status before allowing the player to participate in any game-related activities, and display a message informing the player of their suspension status.

// Check suspension status before allowing player to participate
function checkSuspensionStatus($playerId) {
    // Query database to check if player is suspended
    $query = "SELECT * FROM suspensions WHERE player_id = $playerId AND end_date >= NOW()";
    $result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

    if(mysqli_num_rows($result) > 0) {
        // Player is suspended, display message
        echo "You are currently suspended. Please contact the administrator for more information.";
        exit;
    }
}

// Usage
$playerId = 1; // Player ID to check suspension status
checkSuspensionStatus($playerId);