La Liga Referees Continue to Lead the Way With Cards

There were six red cards handed out across 10 matches in La Liga last weekend as the referees continue to make headlines. 

The Spanish top flight sees the most cards of any of Europe’s top five leagues and this trend is showing no signs of changing. We assess the numbers behind a remarkable season for discipline and pinpoint where the cards will come this weekend. 

Odds courtesy of bet365. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.

La Liga Tops the Cards Charts

Florentino Perez grabbed headlines by suggesting that La Liga needs to draft in Premier League referees in order to improve the standard of officiating in Spain. While that matter is up for debate, what isn’t is that the refs in the top tier of Spanish football love to dish out the cards. There has been an average of 5.10 cards per game in La Liga this season, 0.55 more than the English top flight.

This isn’t a new trend. Last season’s edition of the Premier League saw more cards than any previous season with an average of 4.53 cards, but that was dwarfed by the average of 5.01 cards per La Liga game. 

Red card counts are also soaring in Spain. There were six red cards handed out in the last round of fixtures. Mallorca leads the way with six reds after 24 matches. Leganes, Sevilla and Celta Vigo have all picked up five. In the Premier League, Arsenal are the only team who have reached the four-red-card mark.

With La Liga referees keen to get the cards out in and the numbers climbing higher, we highlight some matches that promise cards ahead of the weekend’s fixtures.

Ones To Watch 

Rayo Vallecano vs Villarreal

These two are 5th and 6th in the table. With the race for a European place hotting up, this one looks primed for cards. Rayo Vallecano matches have seen an average of 4.96 cards per game but there were seven yellows and a red as they earned a 1-1 draw against Villarreal in the reverse fixture. Both teams have received two or more cards in four of Rayo’s last five league outings.

Villarreal matches have seen the second most cards in La Liga with an average of 6.21, 2.79 for the Yellow Submarine and 3.42 for their opponents. Our bet has won in their last four away games. It has also landed on their last three visits to this ground. The stakes are high and the numbers are good. Victor Garcia looks set to be a busy man when he officiates this game. He’s handed out two or more cards to both teams in his last two league games. 

Getafe vs Real Betis

Getafe are all about their work off the ball. They are conceding just 9.79 shots per game and aren’t afraid to resort to the dark arts in order to restrict their opponent’s opportunities. José Bordalás’ side are also adapt at forcing fouls from the opposition. As a result, their matches have seen the most cards in La Liga with an average of 6.33 per game, comfortably above the line of 4.5 set by the bookmakers here. Getafe’s last home game saw 10 cards handed out. 

Real Betis’ league matches are averaging 5.25 cards per game but the head-to-head data shows even more promise. There were eight yellow cards when these teams met earlier in the season. The last clash at this ground saw six cards. Javier Alberola, the referee in charge of this one, handed out six cards in his last La Liga match.

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