Who are the most card-happy officials in the Premier League?

There was a time when Premier League referees were household names, with the likes of David Elleray, Mike Riley, Howard Webb, Mike Dean and Mark Clattenburg all being familiar to a decent number of supporters.

In theory, the introduction of VAR and the on-field announcements that it necessitates should have made the current crop even more recognisable, yet, aside from Michael Oliver, many people would struggle to pick out any of the 2026/27 officials in an ID parade.

In a bid to gain a greater understanding of the 21 men in black (or whatever other colour they happen to be wearing!) and to enhance our football predictions, we have taken a closer look at their individual records in the top-flight so far this season.

THE MAIN MEN

Nine men have officiated 60% of the Premier League matches during the current campaign, so it is pretty clear that the Professional Game Match Officials Board trust them to do a good job:

Interestingly, five of these referees dish out cards at a rate of at least five per game, which, as you will see later, is something only replicated elsewhere by individuals taking charge of a single fixture.

Robert Jones is the most lenient amongst their number, brandishing just 15 yellow cards across his six appearances, whilst Oliver has achieved the perfect balance by cautioning an equal number of players representing home and away teams.

Although four members of this group are yet to show a red card, each of the other five has delivered at least two. Strangely, John Brooks and Chris Kavanagh have only sent off members of the home side, whilst Oliver, Stuart Attwell and Peter Bankes have purely dismissed visiting players.

If you are looking for football tips today, then, since Brooks sent off two Brentford players against Liverpool, it should be noted that Kavanagh is the only one of these officials to have brandished a red card in more than half of his appearances.

THE MID-PACK

Our next selection of referees have each taken charge of either four or five matches in the English top-flight this season, thus accounting for 33% of the overall tally between the seven of them:

As mentioned earlier, each of these men has averaged fewer than five cards per game, with Thomas Bramall’s figure of just 2.40 turning out to be the lowest out of all 21 Premier League officials.

Interestingly, every single member of this group has shown more yellow cards to visiting players than they have to members of the home team, with Farai Hallam (15 of 17) and Tony Harrington (16 of 20) being particularly guilty of this.

Red cards have been at a premium amongst this septet, with just three handed out across their 33 combined appearances. Strangely, Brighton & Hove Albion and Sunderland have each featured in two of the three matches in which there has been a dismissal, including once against each other.

When it comes to Premier League betting, knowing the tendencies of certain officials can be very helpful, so it will be interesting to see if Messrs Hallam and Harrington continue to punish visiting players at such a rate.

THE ‘OCCASIONAL OUTING’ BRIGADE

Aside from Simon Hooper, who has recently returned following an eight-month layoff, this group features the next generation of up and coming referees, with Adam Herczeg, Lewis Smith, Thomas Kirk and Josh Smith all in their 30s:

Refereeing just seven games between them, it comes as little surprise to see that Hooper is the only one of their number to have brandished a red card, with the four youngsters likely to be keen to avoid making any headlines.

That said, the two Smiths and Kirk have been unafraid to reach for their yellow, delivering 17 bookings across their three combined appearances.

Although nobody expects this new group of officials to be thrown in at the deep end, handing them the keys to Coventry City v Hull City, Leeds United v Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town v Fulham, Coventry City v Fulham and Hull City v Ipswich Town shows that they are being eased into life in the top-flight.

SUMMARY

Prior to embarking upon this analysis, I would not have suspected that Jarred Gillett would be handing out significantly more cards per game than Darren England or that Messrs Kavanagh and Brooks would be the red card kings.

This just goes to show that perception is everything when it comes to refereeing, with some officials written off after one poor performance and others going under the radar.

Knowledge is power as they say, so, hopefully, having this information at your fingertips should give you an opportunity to beat the bookies, particularly when it comes to taking advantage of live football odds.