Most Red Cards in Premier League History [Team + Player Records]

Most footballers come with a certain reputation. Some will be known for being law-abiding do-gooders, others garner a reputation for diving, but plenty more become synonymous with receiving cards, namely of the red variety.

Here, we’ve drawn up a few tables to give some insight into top-flight sending-offs. Which Premier League club has had most red cards? Which player has been sent off most in Premier League history? What are the most red cards in the Premier League in one season shown to an individual player and team?

We’ll explore all of this and more below…

Who Has the Most Red Cards in Premier League History?

Three players share the accolde of having the most red cards in Premier League history: Richard Dunne, Duncan Ferguson and Patrick Vieira – each of whom got eight Premier League cards in their careers.

Indeed, you won’t be too surprised by the list of the top seven players with most red cards:

Players with Most Red Cards in Premier League

#Player# of Red Cards
=1Richard Dunne (Everton, Manchester City, Aston Villa, QPR)8
=1Duncan Ferguson (Everton, Newcastle United)8
=1Patrick Vieira (Arsenal, Manchester City)8
=4Roy Keane (Nottingham Forest, Manchester United) 7
=4Lee Cattermole (Middlesbrough, Wigan Athletic, Sunderland)7
=4Vinnie Jones (Chelsea, Wimbledon)7
=4 Alan Smith (Leeds United, Manchester United, Newcastle United)7
*Correct as of 19 January 2023
Duncan Ferguson vs Roy Keane – Angry Moments

Which Team Has the Most Red Cards in Premier League History?

Everton currently hold the record for the most Premier League red cards (106), Arsenal are close behind with 103 red cards.

Arsenal were the first club to reach 100 red cards, when Gabriel was sent off in a 2-1 defeat to Man City on 1st January 2022.

Unsurprisingly, the top two teams for red cards have been ever-presents in the Premier League, but there’s still a fair distance between Arsenal and Everton and the rest of the most ill-disciplined clubs the Premier League has ever seen:

Most Red Cards in Premier League By Team

#Club# of Red Cards
1Everton106
2Arsenal103
3Newcastle United91
4Chelsea85
5West Ham80
*Correct as of 22 April 2023

Most Red Cards in Premier League Season (by Team)

Two clubs have seen their team pick up nine red cards over the course of a season, QPR (2011/12) and Sunderland (2009/10).

Although, to be fair, QPR had Joey Barton playing for them the year they managed it, and Sunderland had Lee Cattermole in their nine-reds season, so perhaps not the biggest surprise.

#ClubSeason# of Red Cards
=1Queens Park Rangers2011-129
=1Sunderland2009-109
=3Newcastle2008-098
=3West Ham United1999-008
=3Blackburn Rovers1998-998
=3Leicester City1994-958
*Correct as of 19 January 2023

Most Red Cards in Premier League Season (by Player)

Five players have each received three red cards over the course of a single Premier League season: Victor Wanyama (2015/16), Wes Brown (2013/14), Franck Queudrue (2002/03), Craig Short (2001/02) and David Batty (1997/98)

PlayerSeasonRed Cards
Victor Wanyama (Southampton)2015-163
Wes Brown (Sunderland)2013-143
Franck Queudrue (Middlesbrough)2002-033
Craig Short (Blackburn Rovers) 2001-023
David Batty (Newcastle United)1997-983
*Correct as of 19 January 2023

Most Red Cards in Premier League Game

The most red cards a Premier League game has seen is three; an accolade shared by 17 matches. They are:

MatchDatePlayers Sent-Off
Southampton 0-3 West BromApril 27, 2013Gaston Ramirez, Danny Fox (both Southampton), Marc-Antoine Fortune (West Brom)
Portsmouth 1-1 SunderlandFebruary 9, 2010Ricardo Rocha (Portsmouth), Lee Cattermole, David Meyler (both Sunderland)
Man City 1-2 TottenhamNovember 9, 2008Gelson Fernandes, Richard Dunne (both Man City), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (Tottenham)
Chelsea 4-4 Aston VillaDecember 26, 2007Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole (both Chelsea), Zat Knight (Aston Villa)
Newcastle 0-3 Aston VillaApril 2, 2005Steven Taylor, Kieron Dyer, Lee Bowyer (all Newcastle)
West Brom 1-1 FulhamSeptember 18, 2004Neil Clement (West Brom), Papa Bouba Diop, Andy Cole (both Fulham)
Chelsea 2-1 LeicesterAugust 23, 2003Geremi (Chelsea), Alan Rogers, Riccardo Scimeca (both Leicester)
Bolton 2-2 LeicesterDecember 29, 2001Paul Warhurst, Dean Holdsworth (both Bolton), Muzzy Izzet (Leicester)
Sunderland 0-1 Man UtdJanuary 31, 2001Michael Gray, Alex Rae (both Sunderland), Andy Cole (Man Utd)
Tottenham 4-2 NewcastleJanuary 2, 2001Neil Sullivan (Tottenham), Nobby Solano, Kieron Dyer (both Newcastle)
Arsenal 2-0 LiverpoolAugust 21, 2000Patrick Vieira (Arsenal), Gary McAllister, Dietmar Hamann (both Liverpool – Hamann’s was later rescinded)
Leeds 1-1 EvertonMay 8, 2000Michael Duberry (Leeds), Richard Dunne, Don Hutchison (both Everton)
Liverpool 0-1 EvertonSeptember 27, 1999Sander Westerveld, Steven Gerrard (both Liverpool), Francis Jeffers (Everton)
West Ham 1-5 LeedsMay 1, 1999Ian Wright, Shaka Hislop, Steve Lomas (all West Ham)
Barnsley 2-3 LiverpoolMarch 28, 1998Darren Barnard, Chris Morgan, Darren Sheridan (all Barnsley)
Wimbledon 2-1 LeicesterSeptember 10, 1994Vinnie Jones (Wimbledon), David Lowe, Brian Carey (both Leicester)
Wimbledon 1-1 BlackburnSeptember 19, 1992Vinnie Jones (Wimbledon), Tony Dobson, Mike Newell (both Blackburn)
*Correct as of 19 January 2023
Liverpool 0-1 Everton 1999 – 3 Red Cards Highlights




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2 thoughts on “Most Red Cards in Premier League History [Team + Player Records]

  1. The 2020 Olympic games football tournament has just been so unique this year. The women’s footballing skills have been amazing and considering the age of some of these players just shows the amount of talent that every country has coming through. Maybe some of these players will make the national teams if there not already and I always considered mixed teams as a bad idea until I watched this year’s Olympics. I believe that most of the women could easily stand their ground against the men.

  2. Hahahaha! Granit Xhaka is sent off again! Guess who for? And this was someone who was touted as the next Arseholes captain!

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