Fair to say, this season was a complete disaster for Chelsea, breaking an unwanted record for indiscipline in the process.
The Blues sacked two managers in 2026, finishing tenth in the Premier League table, thereby failing to qualify for any European competitions. Meantime, during Liam Rosenior's tenure, they were smashed 8-2 on aggregate by PSG, the club's biggest-ever defeat in UEFA competition, while the fact they reached the FA Cup final and EFL Cup semi-finals is scant consolation.
Aside from anything else, there was one clear theme of this season for Chelsea; red cards. In total, the Blues accumulated ten across all competitions, after Wesley Fofana was dismissed by referee Chris Kavanagh during their final day of the season defeat at the Stadium of Light.
List of Chelsea's red cards in 2025/26
- 20 September. Robert Sánchez. 5th minute. Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea.
- 27 September. Trevoh Chalobah. 53rd minute. Chelsea 1-3 Brighton.
- 30 September. João Pedro. 96th minute. Chelsea 1-0 Benfica (UCL).
- 18 October. Malo Gusto. 87th minute. Nottingham Forest 0-3 Chelsea.
- 29 October. Liam Delap. 86th minute. Wolves 3-4 Chelsea (EFL Cup).
- 30 November. Moisés Caicedo. 38th minute. Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal.
- 7 January. Marc Cucurella. 22nd minute. Fulham 2-1 Chelsea.
- 21 February. Wesley Fofana. 72nd minute. Chelsea 1-1 Burnley.
- 1 March. Pedro Neto. 70th minute. Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea.
- 24 May. Wesley Fofana. 62nd minute. Sunderland 2-1. Chelsea.
Ironically, they had gone 15 matches without one, dating back to 1 March, but Fofana decided to collect one more sending off that bookend a terrible campaign. This tally of ten is, not to anyone's surprise, the outright record for any Premier League club across all competition's since the league's formation in 1992.
Most red cards collected by a Premier League team (all competitions)
Clubs | Season | Red cards | PL finish |
|---|---|---|---|
Chelsea | 2025/26 | 10 | 10th |
Sunderland | 2008/09 | 9 | 13th |
Queens Park Rangers | 2011/12 | 9 | 17th |
Sunderland | 2013/14 | 8 | 14th |
Newcastle United | 2008/09 | 8 | 18th |
West Ham United | 1999/00 | 8 | 9th |
Blackburn Rovers | 1998/99 | 8 | 19th |
Leicester Ciy | 1994/95 | 8 | 21st |
Chelsea have become only the eighth Premier League club to accumulated eight or more red cards in a single season, reaching that particular milestone in mid-February, with their tally of ten now the outright most. Of the previous seven, Newcastle, Blackburn and Leicester were all relegated, with Sunderland twice and QPR narrowly avoiding the drop.
So, this may be a first in modern-day English top-flight football, but how common is it in European football for any side to collect 10+ red cards in a single season?
Club's Europe top 5 leagues most red cards in a season (2000-present)
Club | League | Season | Total red cards |
|---|---|---|---|
Hellas Verona | Serie A | 2000/01 | 17 |
Barcelona | La Liga | 2003/04 | 17 |
Real Betis | La Liga | 2022/23 | 16 |
Sevilla | La Liga | 2012/13 | 16 |
Montpellier | Ligue 1 | 2013/14 | 15 |
Espanyol | La Liga | 2003/04 | 15 |
Bastia | Ligue 1 | 2016/17 | 14 |
Atalanta | Serie A | 2015/16 | 14 |
Xerez | La Liga | 2009/10 | 14 |
Levante | La Liga | 2006/07 | 14 |
Note: Statistics courtesy of Statmuse.
Well, it turns out Chelsea are nowhere near the all-time European record. That is held by Real Zaragoza, who accumulated a whopping 19 red cards in La Liga in 1996/97, some going in a 42 game season, still finishing 14th, five points clear of the expanded relegation zone.
Well, that is something for Xabi Alonso to aim for when he arrives at Stamford Bridge in July.
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