Gentlemen and barbarians in European club football – a study based on 22/23 season data

Written by Paul Kemp

Paul Kemp is an experienced sports writer covering Soccer, NBA and NHL. He also writes in depth reviews of sports betting sites based on his personal experience.

, | Updated: September 29, 2022

One facet of the game caught our attention during the latest weekend of club action. The regulations are identical for everyone, yet in certain leagues, the officials have been particularly quick to pull out a red card when compared to others. A week ago, on Saturday, September 17th, Japanese international Shoya Nakajima debuted for new team Antalyaspor in the Turkish Super Lig and was dismissed barely 20 seconds after coming in as a substitute. Less than 24 hours later Jan Clair-Todibo of Nice was sent off just 9 seconds after kick-off in the French Ligue 1. This prompted SportingPedia‘s editorial staff to examine the distribution of yellow and red cards throughout Europe’s five major leagues this season. When it comes to yellow cards, nothing out of the usual occurs, but the statistics for red cards are straight out ludicrous. We also ranked the dirtiest teams and those with the fewest official warnings.

Key Takeaways

Only 3 Premier League teams have been reduced to 10 men this season
In the Premier League the chance to see a player dismissed during a match is as low as 3%, while it reaches 21% in French Ligue 1
There has been not a single Premier League round thus far with more than 1 player sent off
Ligue 1 is witnessing the fewest yellow cards per game, yet somehow the most reds
Only 2 of the 98 teams have received less than 1 yellow card per match
15% of the Premier League sides have seen red card; In La Liga 70%; Serie A – 55%; Ligue 1 – 80%; Bundesliga – 50%

Nathan Collins of Wolverhampton Wanderers was dismissed in the first half of the Premier League game against Manchester City on 17th of September, becoming only the fourth player to see red in the English top flight this season. There has never been more than one sending off in any of the English Premier League’s seven match days! In the course of the current season, there have been just shy of 2 yellow cards on average shown during a Premier League game, the lowest number among Europe’s top five divisions.

Is it the fault of the officials, or is it simply a difference in perception of the football game and physical contact? In stark contrast to the top level of professional football in England, the one in France is far more heated. In Ligue 1, there have already been 34 dismissals.

All five leagues are in the early stages of the season, but the rounds played differ, so we divided the number of cards received by the number of games played, and the results are astounding. There have been less than 0.03 red cards shown in each of the 134 Premier League games, with only the German Bundesliga staying in the single digits with 9% chance of witnessing a player dismissed. The numbers for the other three leagues are all higher.

Cards and Disciplinary Points (DP) per League
League	Yellow Cards	2nd Yellow – Red	Straight Red	DP	Matches Played	DP/Match	Yellow Cards/Match	Red Cards/Match
Premier League	251	2	2	267	134	1.993	1.87	0.03
La Liga	301	8	13	390	120	3.250	2.51	0.18
Bundesliga	230	6	6	278	126	2.206	1.83	0.10
Ligue 1	278	14	20	420	160	2.625	1.74	0.21
Serie A	310	5	10	375	140	2.679	2.21	0.11

» Yellow card = 1 DP » 2 Yellow cards(Red card) = 3 DP » Straight Red card = 5 DP

Manchester City is the cleanest team in Europe’s top five divisions in terms of fair play. After six rounds of play, Pep Guardiola’s players have received less than one yellow card per game. Brentford are second, although their footballers amass 1.14 cards per game, exceeding the 1.0 mark, while Brighton finish off the Premier League top three with 1.17.

Only one other of the 98 teams analysed has managed to stay under the 1.0 DP barrier, with that being the German Bundesliga leaders Union Berlin at 0.86, while Roma, led by Jose Mourinho, earns precisely one yellow card every match in the Italian Serie A.

Just like there are only two teams who so far remain below the 1.0 mark, there are also two clubs that are leaving all of the rest behind when it comes to dirty play. Sevilla and Reims are the only sides across the top 5 leagues who generate more than 5 DP and because of that are crowned as the most ill-disciplined. The Spaniards are “the dirtiest team in Europe” with 5.17 DP per match, while Reims are close at 5.13.

Below you can find a detailed breakdown for all five leagues and the separate teams.

Premier League
Team	Yellow Cards	Yellow – Red	Red Cards	Disciplinary Points	DP/Game	Games
Manchester City	5	0	0	5	0.71	7
Brighton	7	0	0	7	1.17	6
Brentford	8	0	0	8	1.14	7
West Ham	8	0	0	8	1.14	7
Leicester	9	0	0	9	1.29	7
Southampton	9	0	0	9	1.29	7
Liverpool	5	0	1	10	1.67	6
Crystal Palace	11	0	0	11	1.83	6
Arsenal	13	0	0	13	1.86	7
Leeds	13	0	0	13	2.17	6
Newcastle	14	0	0	14	2.00	7
Bournemouth	14	0	0	14	2.00	7
Tottenham	15	0	0	15	2.14	7
Chelsea	10	2	0	16	2.67	6
Everton	17	0	0	17	2.43	7
Aston Villa	18	0	0	18	2.57	7
Wolverhampton	14	0	1	19	2.71	7
Manchester United	20	0	0	20	3.33	6
Nottingham	20	0	0	20	2.86	7
Fulham	21	0	0	21	3.00	7

La Liga
Team	Yellow Cards	Yellow – Red	Red Cards	Disciplinary Points	DP/Game	Games
Real Madrid	8	0	0	8	1.33	6
Athletic Bilbao	10	0	0	10	1.67	6
Villarreal	11	0	0	11	1.83	6
Girona	12	0	0	12	2.00	6
Barcelona	10	1	0	13	2.17	6
Valladolid	9	0	1	14	2.33	6
Real Sociedad	16	0	0	16	2.67	6
Betis	13	0	1	18	3.00	6
Cadiz	15	1	0	18	3.00	6
Celta	14	0	1	19	3.17	6
Espanyol	9	0	2	19	3.17	6
Valencia	13	1	1	21	3.50	6
Atletico Madrid	13	1	1	21	3.50	6
Rayo Vallecano	18	1	0	21	3.50	6
Osasuna	21	0	1	26	4.33	6
Getafe	16	2	1	27	4.50	6
Elche	18	0	2	28	4.67	6
Mallorca	28	0	0	28	4.67	6
Almeria	24	0	1	29	4.83	6
Sevilla	23	1	1	31	5.17	6

Serie A
Team	Yellow Cards	Yellow – Red	Red Cards	Disciplinary Points	DP/Game	Games
Roma	7	0	0	7	1	7
Inter	10	0	0	10	1.43	7
Napoli	12	0	0	12	1.71	7
Monza	14	0	0	14	2.00	7
Spezia	13	1	0	16	2.29	7
Fiorentina	13	1	0	16	2.29	7
Torino	16	0	0	16	2.29	7
Lecce	17	0	0	17	2.43	7
Milan	16	1	0	19	2.71	7
Bologna	13	1	1	21	3.00	7
Cremonese	16	0	1	21	3.00	7
Sampdoria	21	0	0	21	3.00	7
Sassuolo	17	0	1	22	3.14	7
Empoli	12	0	2	22	3.14	7
Udinese	18	0	1	23	3.29	7
Verona	23	0	0	23	3.29	7
Lazio	18	0	1	23	3.29	7
Salernitana	19	0	1	24	3.43	7
Juventus	11	1	2	24	3.43	7
Atalanta	24	0	0	24	3.43	7

Bundesliga
Team	Yellow Cards	Yellow – Red	Red Cards	Disciplinary Points	DP/Game	Games
Union Berlin	6	0	0	6	0.86	7
Eintracht Frankfurt	9	0	0	9	1.29	7
Freiburg	10	0	0	10	1.43	7
Bayern Munich	11	0	0	11	1.57	7
Bochum	11	0	0	11	1.57	7
Koln	10	1	0	13	1.86	7
Wolfsburg	13	0	0	13	1.86	7
Borussia Monchengladbach	10	0	1	15	2.14	7
Werder Bremen	16	0	0	16	2.29	7
RB Leipzig	11	0	1	16	2.29	7
Borussia Dortmund	16	0	0	16	2.29	7
Hertha Berlin	15	1	0	18	2.57	7
Hoffenheim	15	1	0	18	2.57	7
Augsburg	19	0	0	19	2.71	7
Schalke	15	0	1	20	2.86	7
Bayer Leverkusen	10	2	1	21	3.00	7
Mainz	16	0	1	21	3.00	7
Stuttgart	17	1	1	25	3.57	7

Ligue 1
Team	Yellow Cards	Yellow – Red	Red Cards	Disciplinary Points	DP/Game	Games
Lorient	11	0	0	11	1.38	8
Toulouse	11	0	0	11	1.38	8
Lyon	9	0	1	14	1.75	8
Lens	10	0	1	15	1.88	8
Troyes	12	0	1	17	2.13	8
Brest	12	0	1	17	2.13	8
Clermont Foot	14	1	0	17	2.13	8
PSG	18	0	0	18	2.25	8
Nantes	13	0	1	18	2.25	8
Lille	18	0	0	18	2.25	8
Auxerre	9	2	1	20	2.50	8
Strasbourg	12	1	1	20	2.50	8
Marseille	19	1	0	22	2.75	8
Monaco	12	2	1	23	2.88	8
Angers	12	2	1	23	2.88	8
Rennes	18	1	1	26	3.25	8
Ajaccio	21	2	0	27	3.38	8
Nice	14	1	2	27	3.38	8
Montpellier	15	0	4	35	4.38	8
Reims	18	1	4	41	5.13	8