65 red cards have been shown this season, the highest in Top 5 leagues

According to Marca's report, La Liga referees have shown 65 red cards to La Liga players and staffs this season, including direct red and two yellows to one red, becoming the highest in Top 5 leagues. 

Some seasons start to go wrong gradually, while others do so almost without warning. The current season falls into the second category. With the season not yet halfway through, LaLiga has already surpassed the 60-red-card mark. Specifically, 65 red cards in 219 games, a volume that not only leads the five major European leagues, but also projects a finish clearly above the norm.

If the pace continues, the season would end with around 113 red cards. It would not be an all-time record for the championship, but it would be high enough to place 2025-26 in the top six in LaLiga history since 2008-09, according to Opta records. And that is no small detail. Because when you look back at the past, a very Spanish constant emerges. The five highest records for red cards per season belong to LaLiga. Not only does Spain send off players a lot when it does, but it also sets the ceiling for the continent.

The current data fits perfectly into that narrative. After the brutal peak of 2022-23, with 137 red cards, last season was relatively restrained. This season, however, the temperature is rising again. And it is doing so early, with plenty of games left to play and at a sustained pace.

Spain sends off more players and for longer periods of time

Compared to the other major leagues, LaLiga leaves no room for doubt in terms of volume. 65 red cards, ahead of Ligue 1 (54), Serie A (33), Bundesliga (31), and Premier League (27). The difference with England, for example, is already almost 40 red cards projected by the end of the season.

Context matters. The Bundesliga and Ligue 1 (since the French format change in 2023-24) play shorter seasons, with a maximum of 306 games. That limits their absolute ceiling. That's why it's also worth looking at the pace. And that's where the only nuance comes in. France sends players off slightly faster per game, but Spain compensates with more kilometers of competition. In other words, LaLiga not only sends off a lot of players, it has more time to keep sending them off.

The result is sustained leadership. Italy and Germany are in the middle ground, far from Spain's historic peaks. The Premier League is in a league of its own. Its projection is around 40-45 red cards, a structural gap that no longer seems circumstantial.

Direct red cards, the core of the problem

The red card that most influences matches also points to Spain. Forty-one of the 65 expulsions in LaLiga are direct, a high proportion within the European context. France equals that number of direct red cards, but with fewer games played and a shorter overall schedule.

If the distribution remains the same, LaLiga would end the season with just over 70 straight red cards, a figure that is in line with its recent history. In 2022-23, the Spanish championship reached its highest total in this category. The current season is not looking to reach such heights, but it is once again in the upper range.

It is not just a question of quantity. It is a question of profile. The weight of direct red cards indicates more tense matches, more borderline actions, and less room for progressive punishment management.

Yellow cards, the constant warning

The pattern repeats itself when the focus is broadened. LaLiga also leads in yellow cards, both in volume and in average per game, exceeding four per game, above the rest of the major leagues.

Historically, this is not new territory. The highest peaks in cautions in the series are also concentrated in Spain. The reading is clear. When the disciplinary bar is raised, LaLiga tends to do so en masse. More warnings, more second yellows, more direct expulsions.

A trend that is not new

Seen in perspective, the current season is not an anomaly. It is a revival. After several years of fluctuations, LaLiga is once again approaching its peak. Not quite to the extremes of the end of the last decade, but to a level that clearly sets it apart from the rest.

If the data tells us anything, it is that the Spanish championship does not view these figures as an exception. It is part of its historical identity. The 2025-26 season, if the trend continues, will be another in that list. Not the most red-hot. But another that confirms that when LaLiga fires up, it does so more than anyone else.