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Yellow cards and red cards are a very important part of football. Football is a contact sport and that's why maintaining law and order on the football pitch is of utmost importance. It's easy to get lost in the moment when high-octane footballing action is unfolding all around you. But different players approach the game differently.
Some are gentle and law-abiding while others are way more aggressive than others. There's a variety of actions that can warrant a yellow card or a red card in a game of football. It's not just about violent conduct or aggressive challenges.
Denying goalscoring opportunities, using abusive language, and protesting against the decisions of the referee are all actions that could get someone red carded. Without further ado, let's take a look at five players who have been shown the red card the most number of times in Premier League history.
#5 Lee Cattermole - 7 red cards
Lee Cattermole earned a reputation as a tough-tackling midfielder early in his career. He was never really one to give too hoots about disciplinary actions. After beginning his senior career at Middlesbrough, he would go on to play for Wigan Athletic and Sunderland.
Cattermole seemed to like getting stuck into players while making challenges and his proclivity towards edgy behaviour earned him many early showers. Roy Keane, one of the most aggressive and belligerent midfielders the Premier League has ever seen, also has seven red cards to his name.
But Keane averaged one red card every 52 games. Meanwhile, by November 2013, when he had picked up his seventh Premier League red card, Cattermole averaged one every 33 games.
#4 Vinnie Jones - 7 red cards
Vinnie Jones loved to let his opponents know that he was around and ready to hound them like a pitbull from the get-go. Jones would go on to become a star in the movie industry and has had a very successful career there.
The same can hardly be said about his football career, though, as he proved to be a liability on several occasions for the clubs he represented. Jones picked up as many as seven red cards in just 184 matches. That's one red card every 26 games.
Jones was part of the bullish 'Crazy Gang', a name given to the Wimbledon side of the 1980s and 90s and won the FA Cup with them in 1988.
#3 Richard Dunne - 8 red cards
Richard Dunne's recklessness reflected poorly on his record as a Premier League player. The Irishman played for Everton, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers. Dunne is at the top of two very undesirable lists in the English top flight.
Dunne holds the joint Premier League record for being shown the most number of red cards - eight times in the league. He also holds the record for the most number of own goals scored by any player in the Premier League, with 10 to his name.
Sadly, that's the exact number of goals Dunne has scored on the other side of the pitch. He averages a red card every 54 games.
#2 Patrick Vieira - 8 red cards
Patrick Vieira is one of the best defensive midfielders to have graced the Premier League. The Frenchman was one of the best ball winners around and his ability to help turn defence into attack played a crucial role in Arsenal becoming a force to be reckoned with.
However, his bullish nature did bleed into illegal territory quite often. He was another player who loved to commit wholly to tackles and that earned him a reputation as a notorious midfielder. Vieira picked up red cards in 307 Premier League appearances.
He averaged one red card every 38 games.
#1 Duncan Ferguson - 8 red cards
Everton hardman Duncan Ferguson has an unrivaled disciplinary record in the Premier League. Big Dunc was one of the most frightening players to go up against in Premier League history. Worse yet, his notorious behavior was not limited to his time in the Premier League.
Ferguson's worst moment in terms of discipline on the football pitch came when he headbutted Raith Rovers' John McStay whilst playing for Rangers. He was served a 12-game ban and was sent to prison for three months after getting charged with assault.
Ferguson averaged a red card every 33 games in the Premier League.
