Top 10 Footballers With Most Red Cards In Premier League History
Referees brandish an average of 50 red cards in Premier League season. That comes out to about one red card every eight games. With 22 players on the pitch, football players might expect to be sent off every 167 appearances (1/167). Unfortunately, some overshoot this number, amassing red cards, affecting results, causing injury, destroying the sporting spirit, and tarnishing the image of the beautiful game.
Videos and statistics will be provided for each player in the top 10 (where available). Unlike other lists, the number of appearances made by the players is taken into consideration. The important measure in this list is red cards per game or red card rate. Only players with more than 6 red cards in the Premier League are included.
10. Alan Smith
Red Cards: 6
Appearances: 285
Red Card Rate: 1/48 (1 red card every 48 appearances)
If Alan Smith still played in the Premier League, he’d be sent off in every game. Smith consistently threw himself into reckless challenges with little regard for the damage he caused. He was a fairly gifted forward who played for Leeds, Manchester United, and Newcastle in his career, although Alex Ferguson deployed him as a midfield destroyer during his time in Manchester.
9. Joey Barton
Red Cards: 6
Appearances: 269
Red Card Rate: 1/45
Joey Barton is possibly the most hated football player of all time. His red cards rarely come from genuine attempts to get the ball or even reckless attempts to knock someone off the ball. Rather, Barton lashes out at other players when he thinks the officials aren’t looking. He is a thug and a coward who should never be allowed on a football pitch.
8. Lee Cattermole
Red Cards: 7
Appearances: 271
Red Card Rate: 1/39
Lee Cattermole is the master of dirty challenges. With 7 red cards by the age of 27, he stands to become the most red-carded player in history (the shared record is 8). Remarkably, 6 of his red cards came in the space of 99 appearances for Sunderland. He even received a red card after the final whistle of a match in 2012 for confronting a referee.
7. Patrick Vieira
Red Cards: 8
Appearances: 307
Red Card Rate: 1/38
Patrick Vieira was a midfield enforcer for Arsenal between 1996 and 2005. He returned for Manchester City in the 2010-11 season. Vieira’s size and willingness to get stuck into the tackle resulted in him being sent off 8 times. He also had numerous spats with Roy Keane (see video).
6. Nemanja Vidic
Red Cards: 6
Appearances: 211
Red Card Rate: 1/35
Nemanja Vidic was one of the best defenders in the world during his time at Manchester United. But, as he drew closer to retirement, he found the pace of the game a little too much to bear. His attempts to win the ball back from quicker players increasingly resulted in desperate lunges and rash challenges (see video). Two of his six red cards came in the 2013-14 Premier League season, Vidic’s last as a Manchester United player.
5. Duncan Ferguson
Red Cards: 8
Appearances: 269
Red Card Rate: 1/34
Much like Joey Barton, Duncan Ferguson was a true thug. He terrorized defenders between 1994 and 2006. Many of his fouls came from dangerous tackles or off-the-ball incidents. In the video, he can be seen headbutting another player.
4. Franck Queudrue
Red Cards: 6
Appearances: 201
Red Card Rate: 1/34
Franck Queudrue’s Premier League career lasted from 2001 to 2010, playing for Middlesborough, Fulham, and Birmingham. During the 2002-2003 season, he received 3 red cards for reckless challenges. On a lighter note, he scored one of the best own goals ever during his time in the French League (see video).
3. Younes Kaboul
Red Cards: 6
Appearances: 197
Red Card Rate: 1/33
Younès Kaboul is a currently active French central defender who last played for Watford. He previously played for Portsmouth, Tottenham Hotspur, and Sunderland. One of Kaboul’s red cards came from a headbutt in 2010. Another came from getting a second yellow card after removing his shirt during a goal celebration. After moving to Sunderland, he received his first red card for the Black Cats after only 5 games.
Younes Kaboul playing for Tottenham Hotspur.
Ronnie MacDonald via Wikimedia Commons.
2. Vinnie Jones
Red Cards: 6
Appearances: 184
Red Card Rate: 1/31
Vinnie Jones’s Premier League career lasted from 1992-1998. Before the Premier League emerged, he had already been sent off 6 times, bringing his career total to 12. He holds the record for the quickest ever yellow card, at 3 seconds. After retiring from football, Vinnie brought his hard-man persona to the silver screen.
1. John Hartson
Red Cards: 6
Appearances: 155
Red Card Rate: 1/26
Between 1995 and 2001, John Hartson left a trail of destruction in the Premier League. After being sent off in 1997, Hartson accused the referee of being “a homer” and “an absolute joke”. In 1998, he was red-carded for striking another player and was sent off again 7 matches later. In 1999, he was red carded for elbowing another player, and in 1999 and 2000, Hartson was sent off twice for using foul and abusive language towards referees.
Off the field, he was given a conditional discharge for breaking a basket outside of a pub. Most shocking of all, he kicked a teammate in the face during a training session (see video). For this incident, he was fined 20 thousand pounds and banned for 3 matches. He has also had bust-ups with managers Bruce Rioch and Bobby Gould. Despite all this, his reputation appears to be largely undamaged, and he regularly appears as a TV pundit.