Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers hold the joint Premier League record for the most red cards in a single season, with nine dismissals each. Sunderland set the mark in 2009-10 and QPR matched it in 2011-12. A number of other clubs have also had seasons with high red-card totals.
The season-by-season worst offenders in the top flight include several campaigns with eight or more red cards. The leading seasons are:
Chelsea have already been shown four red cards in this campaign from 13 Premier League matches. The players sent off so far are:
That works out at roughly 0.31 red cards per game. If that rate continues across the season Chelsea would finish on a figure that challenges the top-flight record.
Head coach Enzo Maresca was also dismissed late on during Chelsea's win over Liverpool in October, adding to the club's disciplinary headlines.
The Blues are one red card shy of equalling their own worst tally in a Premier League campaign, a mark recorded in 2005-06, 2007-08, 2009-10 and 2015-16. Two of those seasons ended with Chelsea winning the title despite the high number of dismissals.
High red-card totals affect teams in several ways: immediate numerical disadvantage during matches, subsequent suspensions for the players involved and potential disruption to team selection and tactics. Clubs with repeated dismissals face both short-term game challenges and longer-term squad planning issues.
This summary answers a common question about Premier League records and highlights current developments in the season. The information draws on season-by-season tallies and recent match events to show how historical records compare with what is happening now.