When Moises Caicedo was sent off while playing for Chelsea against Arsenal in November 2025, it opened the door for a potential disaster. Not only did it mean that the Blues would have to play for around an hour with ten men against the Premier League table toppers – they would still claim a 1-1 draw nonetheless, it also meant that Chelsea would be without the services of their midfield maestro for three games, given his suspension.
It was their fourth red card in 13 Premier League games, with Robert Sanchez, Malo Gusto and Trevoh Chalobah receiving their marching orders earlier in the campaign. All of which means that, at a red card per game ratio of 0.30, Chelsea could finish the 2025/26 Premier League campaign with eleven red cards to their name. And if they did, they would break the current EPL record for most dismissals in a single season, which – for now at least – remains at nine.
Red Mist
Sanchez was the first Chelsea player of the 2025/26 season to see red. Just five minutes had been played in the Blues’ trip to Old Trafford when the Spaniard charged from his goal in a bid to halt United attacker Bryan Mbeumo, who was clear through. Unfortunately for him, Sanchez mistimed his lunge and was forced to haul down the Cameroon ace, leaving referee Peter Bankes with no choice but to send him off.
Nine cards were shown in the feisty 1-3 defeat to Brighton in September 2025, with one of them red: that was shown to Chalobah, who lost the plot in launching himself at Georginho Rutter. Gusto was given his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card against Nottingham Forest in October, before Caicedo was dismissed for a horror tackle on Arsenal’s Mikel Merino.
To go with that quartet of reds, Chelsea were also reduced to ten men in a Champions League clash with Benfica – Joao Pedro the guilty party on that occasion, and in their 4-3 League Cup win over Wolves… Liam Delap adjudged to have led with his elbow in one robust aerial challenge.
And as if all that wasn’t enough, even Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has gotten in on the act. He was shown a red card after celebrated too animatedly in his side’s 2-1 win over Liverpool in the Premier League. It’s an astonishing rap sheet, and one with serious ramifications for Chelsea’s title push, given that they have missed so many key figures in big games through suspension. And there’s even a chance that the Blues could break an unwanted record for seeing red…
Hall of Shame
At the time of writing, the record for most red cards shown to one team in a single Premier League season is nine. Sunderland were the first side to be bestowed with such an ‘honour’ in 2009/10. Micheal Turner was the worst culprit, as he was sent off twice during that inglorious campaign, while there were also reds for the likes of Jack Colback, Lee Cattermole and Kieran Richardson.
And, not to suggest that Steve Bruce’s side were dirty or anything, but they also picked up 74 yellow cards that season – more than any other Premier League team that term. Two seasons later, QPR came along and matched Sunderland’s record of nine red cards in a single EPL campaign.
Four players were sent off twice in 2011/12… and Queens Park Rangers had two of them in the shape of notorious shrinking violets, Joey Barton and Djibril Cisse. Joining them on the Hoops’ suspended list were the likes of Shaun Derry, Clint Hill and Adel Taarabt. Curiously, QPR only ranked 12th in that season’s yellow card table, while only one of their players – that man Barton – finished inside the top ten for the most cautions shown per player.
It just goes to show that when that QPR side saw red, their marching orders often swiftly followed… Whether Chelsea can reach these heights only time will tell, although it seems likely that they will shatter their own previous record red cards in a single season: five. They’ve had five or more reds in four different seasons… going on to win the Premier League title in two of them.
Who Are the Dirtiest Team in Premier League History?
You could certainly make a case for that Sunderland side of 2009/10, given that they received more yellow cards than any other team and set a new red card record. Indeed, an argument could be made that Sunderland are the dirtiest team in Premier League history. On seven occasions has a team received eight or more red cards in a single EPL campaign, with the Black Cats delivering two of those (2009/10 and 2013/14).
Maybe Chelsea can be added into the conversation too; not just for their 2025/26 exploits. At the time of writing, they had received more yellow cards than any other team in Premier League history:
- #1 – Chelsea (2,146)
- #2 – Everton (2,095)
- #3 – Tottenham (2,004)
- #4 – Arsenal (1,989)
- #5 – Manchester United (1,984)
Of course, there’s a caveat here: those five teams have been ever present in the Premier League since its foundation in 1992. More games, more yellow cards. Chelsea’s yellow card per game ratio is 1.67, which is matched by West Ham. And it’s that common scourge of the referee, Sunderland, who lead the way in this metric too: 1,161 yellow cards received in 622 games is a ratio of 1.86 per 90 minutes.
Arsenal and Everton have received more red cards than any other Premier League side, but again there’s the ‘ever present’ tag to consider – the Gunners’ red card per game ratio is 0.08. That can be bettered by Blackburn Rovers, whose 78 red cards in 696 games works out at 0.11 per contest, while – you guessed it – Sunderland are also at the party with a ratio of 0.10 (64 reds in 622 games). So, the next time conversation turns to ‘who is the Premier League’s dirtiest team’, you’ll be armed with the answer: in various different ways, it’s Sunderland.
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