Exploring Football's Red Card Hall of Fame: Players and Matches with the Most Dismissals

A red card is a sign of direct dismissal from the match. A team cannot afford a red card as it dismisses the player from the game and the player cannot be replaced. This leaves a team short-handed, and they have to play the match with available players.

There have been many times in history when several players, teams, and events came into the spotlight for getting red cards. Let’s just dive into the world of football and red cards.

Players with the Most Red Cards in Football History

Let’s talk about the most notorious ones. No one can bear Gerardo Bedoya getting the higher number of red cards. Bedoya is fondly known as "The Beast" because of his aggressive and reckless tackling style.

As far as sending-offs go, Gerardo Bedoya has the record with an incredible 46 times! Sergio Ramos has the record of getting the most red cards for any footballer since 2000.

Pablo Alfaro was a player at Sevilla when Ramos broke through to the first team; since Alfaro was nearing the end of his career, it is plausible to assume that Ramos learned his dark arts from him.

More than 50 red cards were handed out between the two of them as they played 28 times in defense for the club. Envision yourself as a striker facing off against those two!

Most Red Cards in a Single Contest

While it's unusual for multiple players to be ejected in a single match, there have been games with an unprecedented amount of ejections.

Portugal vs Netherlands

Russian referee Valentin Ivanov showed four red cards and sixteen yellow cards in a 2006 World Cup match between the Netherlands and Portugal. Ever since then, the match has been officially recorded as the World Cup game with the most red cards.

Teniente Farina vs Libertad

At the very top of the list is the soccer game with the most controversial outcome and the highest number of red cards. Nestor Guillen, the referee, took two players off the pitch for aggressive misconduct; the players, strange as it may sound, chose to disregard him.

Can a football game have 36 send-offs (more than the playing XIs)? It is kind of funny.

The referee and his officials chose to depart the pitch instead of attempting to calm the situation down as a result of the ongoing lack of knowledge and hostility on the pitch. Despite criticism from both teams' officials, the referee's judgment on the 36 ejections was upheld.

Chesterfield vs Plymouth Argyle

Both the first and second shocking incidents in English football occurred in 1997 when five players were sent off in a match between Chesterfield and Plymouth Argyle. In the first half, a Plymouth player was sent off for a heavy foul.

In the final minutes of the game, the goalkeeper got injured. In the heat of the moment, a clash broke out between the players. The referee had to draw another four red cards.

Club Atletico Claypole vs Victoriano Arenas

The Teniente Farina vs Libertad contest was not the only one when the referee had to send off 36 players. The same happened when Club Atletico Claypole confronted the Victoriano Arenas. It became another game to get registered in the Guinness Book of Records along with Teniente Farina vs Libertad.

It was the Argentina Primera D game between Club Atlético Claypole and Victoriano Arenas refereed by Damián Rubino (Argentina) at the Estadio Rodolfo Capocasa, Claypole, Argentina, on 27 February 2011.

Barcelona vs Espanyol

The most red cards ever shown in a football match were in a match between Espanyol and Barcelona, which took place in La Liga, one of the world's most important leagues.

There were seven yellow cards and six dismissals due to the fighting that broke out after Barca won and Espanyol scored just once. To restore harmony and calm the players and spectators, the referee brought out three players from each side to equalize the match.

Sportivo Ameliano vs General Caballero

The Sportivo Ameliano vs. General Caballero match of 1993 has the record for most red cards in a football match with 20, earning a spot in the Guinness Book of Records. Before the first two games on this list broke it, the game held the record.

As a result of a scuffle that lasted over ten minutes, the disaster referee hesitated before ejecting twenty players. The referee left the pitch after serving them.