There have been quite a few bad boys in Premier League football and they have certainly gotten their fair share of red cards. But there are a few players who stand above the rest with some pretty poor disciplinary records.
Who has the most red cards in the Premier League? In Premier League history, Duncan Ferguson, Patrick Viera and Richard Dunne are all tied for the most red cards with 8. Ferguson heads the list with his 8 red cards coming in just 269 games. Viera took 307 games while Dunne played 431 games in total.
Viera, Ferguson and Dunne each have 8 Premier League red cards
The names on this list likely won’t surprise you when we talk about the bad boys of the Premier League. Duncan Ferguson being top can’t surprise many, with the Everton forward collecting eight red cards in an injury and incident-filled eleven-year career.
Ferguson had pretty poor discipline from early on in his time with Everton, being sent off twice in his first Premier League season of 1994/95 before picking up two more in 1996/97. Another in the 1997/98 season took his total to five, with Ferguson adding another during his time in Newcastle.
Fergusons’ second stint with Everton had some more red cards, picking up one for elbowing Kostas Konstantinidis and one for violent conduct in a game against Wigan. That incident gave Ferguson his eighth Premier League red card, equalling the record of Patrick Viera at eight.
Patrick Viera’s ferocity and aggression is part of what made him such an excellent player and one of the best Premier League midfielders of all time. But it is also what got Viera into trouble and he had a knack for collecting red cards in big games.
His first red card came for using “foul and abusive language” aimed at the referee. Viera picked up another red in the second season, with his third red card being infamous. Viera was given a second yellow for fouling Paolo Di Canio and proceeded to spit at Neil Ruddock which ended with him picking up a six-week ban.
Viera’s 2000/01 season was his worst for discipline, picking up two red cards in 30 Premier
League games including a straight red in the season opener and then another red against Liverpool. Viera would pick up another three red cards in the next three seasons, all resulting from second yellow cards.
Richard Dunne is the record holder of two of the unenviable records in the Premier League. Not only did he collect eight red cards in his Premier League career, but he also holds the record for the most goals in Premier League history with 10. It is a pair of records Dunne cannot be too pleased to be remembered for.
Dunne had a very long Premier League career, finishing with 432 appearances so there were going to be some poor judgement calls in there. At just 20 years old Dunne received his first red card coming from two yellow cards during his time with Everton. Another two red cards with Everton meant Dunne received three red cards in his first 58 Premier League games before going more than 100 games without a red during his time with Manchester City.
What is interesting about the majority of Dunne’s red cards is that they came within two seasons and were when many considered Dunne to be playing his highest quality of football.
Dunne received four red cards in two seasons of Premier League action. In January 2009 Dunne was sent off against Wigan Athletic and this was his eighth red card, equalling the Premier League record.
Who has the most red cards in the Premier League 2022
In the 2022/23 season, there has not been a player to receive more than one red card at the time of writing. At the moment there have been 12 players to receive a single red card and so these 12 players are all tied for the most red cards in the Premier League right now.
The players who have received a red card in the Premier League in 2022 are; Tyler Adams, Nelson Semedo, Joao Cancelo, Nathaniel Chalobah, Nathan Collins, Diego Costa, Conor Gallagher, Kalidou Koulibaly, Emerson Roya, Darwin Nunez, Luis Sinisterra and Douglas Luiz.
Which team has the most red cards in the Premier League 2022
In terms of the team with the most red cards, there is certainly an outright leader. Wolves are the only team to have received three red cards at the time of writing and this is the most in the Premier League. Nelson Semedo, Nathan Collins and Diego Costa are the three players in the Premier League to receive a red card.
Chelsea and Leeds are the two teams in second with two red cards. Leeds have Luis Sinisterra and Tyler Adams to thank for those red cards, while Chelsea have already seen Conor Gallagher and Kalidou Koulibaly sent off this season.
What is the quickest red card ever?
It may be surprising to hear that the quickest red card in professional football happened very recently, taking place at the start of the 2022/23 season in Ligue 1. It took just nine seconds for a player to be sent off.
Former Barcelona centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo was lining up for French side Nice in a Ligue 1 match against Angers. Angers took the opening kick and played a few nice passes and found Abdallah Sima in stride. Sima was able to touch the ball past Todibo and would have been in on goal.
But Todibo stuck his leg out and brought down the attacker, causing the referee to pull out his red card just nine seconds into the game. It was a decision the referee had to make as Sima would have had a one-on-one with the goalkeeper had he been able to cleanly get past Todibo but was instead brought down illegally.
We have seen past times when players have been sent off before they actually enter the pitch. A substitute can still be sent off before they enter the pitch, but Todibo’s red card is the fastest from the start of the game with a player on the pitch.