Referees will send players out if they go too far, but football is still a tough and intense sport. Some gamers are all too familiar with this. All of the game’s prizes went to Sergio Ramos. Over his career, he was also sent off a great number of times. Ramos is undoubtedly among the dirtiest football players in history.
Some players may be more well-known than others when it comes to the players who have received the most red cards. However, they all have the trait of having seen red far too frequently. These are the 15 football players who have received the most red cards throughout history.
15 Football Players Who Have Received the Most Red Cards in History
Rank
The player
The country
The quantity of red cards
1.
Bedoya Gerardo
Colombia
46
2.
Ramos, Sergio
Spain
30
3.
Alfaro Pablo
Spain
27
4.
Melo Felipe
Brazil
26
5.
Davids, Edgar
The Netherlands
25
6.
Montero, Paolo
Uruguay
23
7.
Marquez Rafael
Mexico
22
8.
Rool, Cyril
France
22
9.
Ruano Delgado, Alexis
Spain
22
10.
Torrado, Gerardo
Mexico
22
11.
Contini, Matteo
Italy
21
12.
Amorebieta Fernando
Venezuela
20
13.
Medel, Gary
Chile
19.
14.
Cahuzac Yannick
France
19.
15.
Semberas Deividas
Lithuania
17
15Deividas Semberas
17 red cards
Lithuanian centre-back Deividas Semberas played for Dynamo and CSKA in Moscow for 14 years. He received nine of his seventeen red cards at CSKA. Two yellows accounted for seven of those. Five of his 17 red cards were indeed straight reds. Every other one was for a second offence.
Along with winning the UEFA Cup in 2005, he and CSKA won the Russian championship three times. During his 19-year career, Semberas scored 12 goals in over 600 club and national team appearances, yet he was dismissed more often than he scored goals.
14Yannick Cahuzac
19 red cards
Despite playing more than 300 games for Bastia, Yannick Cahuzac was sent off 19 times during his career. He was sent off three times in Ligue One during the 2016–17 campaign. The team might have had higher expectations of him as captain of Bastia. In just his third professional match, he received his first red card.
With 30 minutes remaining in the game against Dijon, he received his second yellow card, forcing the 20-year-old to exit the field. He was still well-liked in French football, nevertheless, especially with Bastia, for whom he performed so devotedly over a 12-year period.
13Gary Medel
19 red cards
Chest-barreled An early bath was nothing new to Chilean utility player Gary Medel. While playing for his country, he received five red cards by himself. In the Copa America third-place play-off in 2019, he faced Argentina in what was arguably his most well-publicized farewell.
He got into an altercation with Lionel Messi prior to halftime, and both of them received straight red cards. As a result, the Argentine was banned from international football for three months. While playing in the Turkish, Italian, and Spanish leagues, Medel had the unique distinction of being sent off.
Naturally, he was also a member of the Chilean team that won back-to-back Copa America competitions in 2015 and 2016.
12Fernando Amorebieta
20 red cards
Venezuelan centre-back Fernando Amorebieta received red cards while playing in Argentina, England, and Spain. In 2019, while playing in Paraguay, he bit an opponent, taking a cue from Luis Suarez.
When he was given an early bath for stamping on a Peruvian player at the Copa America, he was at it once more. Between 2013 and 2016, the defender made 48 appearances for Fulham but only received two red cards.
One such red card occurred during a crushing 5-0 loss to Manchester City. It was eight minutes into the second half and Fulham was behind 1-0 when he was sent off. Amorebieta was probably not well-liked by his teammates after that.
11Matteo Contini
21 red cards
A much travelled Italian defender, Matteo Contini played in both Italy and Spain. He gained further notoriety in the 2000s while playing for Parma and Napoli. He elbowed Gonzalo Higuain during a violent altercation with Real Madrid, earning him one of his most well-known red cards.
He nevertheless made well over 500 club appearances in spite of all the suspensions. After retiring, Contini became a manager in Italy’s Serie C. His stance towards punishment will be intriguing to observe, particularly in regards to players who make snap decisions and thereby miss games.
10Gerardo Torrado
22 red cards
Between 2002 and 2010, Gerardo Torrado, a Mexican midfielder, made history by participating in three World Cup finals. The midfielder made 388 appearances for Cruz Azul of Mexico in addition to playing for Sevilla throughout his early career.
He also had a lengthy international career, accruing 146 caps in 14 years. He participated in the exciting Copa America 2001, where Mexico succumbed to Colombia 1-0 in the final after defeating Uruguay 2-1 in the semifinals. Torrado’s second yellow card during injury time cut Mexico’s roster to nine players, who were already down to ten men in that match.
9Alexis Ruano Delgado
22 red cards
Centre-back Alexis Ruano Delgado played for Valencia and Getafe, among other teams. Having not been included in the squad for any of the previous rounds, he played with Juan Mata, David Villa, and David Silva in the Copa del Rey final for the latter.
Alexis headed in Valencia’s second goal as Valencia defeated Getafe 3-1 in that final. Despite being a fierce tackling player who occasionally acted rashly, he occasionally suffered on the pitch.
He struck an opponent while playing for Getafe versus Barcelona, rupturing a vein in his testicles. This startled his former coach Luis Garcia, who held up his hands to reveal a handball-sized ball and remarked, “One of Alexis’s testicles was like this.”
8Cyril Rool
22 red cards
French journeyman midfielder Cyril Rool made more than 350 matches in Ligue One between the 1990s and 2000s. Had he not been sent out so frequently, he might have played a lot more. He received his marching orders a total of 27 times.
Rool was fairly versatile and could play full-back as well. He played more than 100 games for Bastia, Lens, and Nice because he was dedicated to the cause. He was a member of the Lens side that defeated Arsenal 1-0 at Wembley in 1998 and has solid Champions League experience. That evening, Ray Parlour was sent off for kicking out at Rool’s head, and he was the one who suffered the consequences.
7Rafael Marquez
22 red cards
Rafael Marquez is considered to be Mexico’s best defender ever. Alongside a teenage Lionel Messi, he played for a fantastic Barcelona team, with whom he had one altercation.
The Mexican certainly has a fiery side. He was sent off for headbutting Cobi Jones of the USA at the 2002 World Cup.
Speaking 16 years after the incident, Marquez expressed no regret for his behaviour: “I don’t regret it; my act of frustration would never have changed the score if it hadn’t happened.” It taught me something. My character includes not being able to control [myself] and losing.”
6Paolo Montero
23 red cards
In the 1990s, Paolo Montero played for a very successful Juventus squad. Edgar Davids, one of the greatest midfielders of all time, claimed that Montero was the one who brought out the best in him.
When the Italian powerhouses were vying for the national and European championships year after year, he made 278 appearances for Juventus. Unfortunately for the Uruguayan, he lost all three of his Champions League final appearances to Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.
He set an unrivalled record in Serie A with 16 red cards during his 13 years of playing for Atalanta and Juventus in Italy.
5Edgar Davids
25 red cards
Edgar Davids was a dynamic and aggressive Dutch midfielder who was known as the pit bull during his playing career. He played for the young Ajax team that won the 1995 Champions League final by defeating AC Milan.
He could undoubtedly claim a spot in the most sent-off XI of all time. Also, he demonstrated that he was not a big-time Charlie. After playing for Juventus and AC Milan, Davids ended his playing career at Barnet, where he later became manager.
In his final game for the team, a 2-1 loss to Salisbury on the road in 2013, he was red carded, demonstrating his ferocity there. Davids was sent off for a second yellow for dissent after already receiving a booking for a foul. He then said that he was retiring from playing.
4Felipe Melo
26 red cards
A Brazilian journeyman defensive midfielder, Felipe Melo loved a good tear-up. This was aptly illustrated in 2024 when he knocked the opposition’s press officer to the ground while playing for Fluminense.
Felipe Melo goes ballistic & attacks a staff member of Atletico Goianiense after his Fluminense lose in 95th minute.
Death, taxes & Felipe Melo meltdowns.
pic.twitter.com/vzsAikrWcz— Nima Tavallaey Roodsari (@NimaTavRood) June 17, 2024
This was not a young man with a lot of energy. At the time of this incident, Melo was forty years old. It was the conduct that remained constant throughout his professional life. Melo was sent off for using punches and karate kicks.
However, his stamping on Arjen Robben during the 2010 World Cup quarterfinal may have been his most well-known red card while playing for Brazil.
3Pablo Alfaro
27 red cards
Spanish center-half Pablo Alfaro, who stood six feet or more, played from 1989 to 2007. Alfaro was especially productive during the 1995–96 season while playing for Racing Santander, despite receiving three red cards during that time.
In a 3-1 loss against Real Valladolid on the road, one of those dismissals occurred after just six minutes. While playing for Merida in the Spanish second level, he was able to duplicate that trio of reds during the 99/00 season. He was given a straight red card in the first half of another match that season. Alfaro asked whether the game was becoming too feminine as his career came to a close and his red card total showed no indications of decreasing.
2Sergio Ramos
30 red cards
The player who most infuriated Lionel Messi was Sergio Ramos. It’s no surprise that Ramos was a threat in addition to being a superb player and often winner. With Real Madrid and Spain, he won everything, including the Champions League and the World Cup.
In 820 club games, he scored 120 goals, which is a remarkable amount of goals for a defender. In addition, Spain scored 23 goals. Ramos was fiercely competitive, loved the physical aspect of the game, and appeared to enjoy sliding tackle in particular. Naturally, he paid a price for living on the edge, and he continues to do so, having received 30 red cards throughout his career.
1Gerardo Bedoya
46 red cards
Gerardo Bedoya is regarded as one of the dirtiest players of all time, having received an incredible 46 red cards during his career. To Bedoya’s credit, one of those terminations occurred when he was a manager.
Thus, it might be argued that he was only dismissed forty-five times. Jokes aside, it’s unbelievable that one player could keep acting in such a way and still receive marching orders so frequently.
The greatest sorrow is that it diminishes Bedoya’s accomplishments as a player. He scored the first goal in Colombia’s victory over Honduras in the semi-final of their lone Copa America in 2001.
