New Rules Have Increased Premier League Bookings By 23.33 Percent

With the Premier League and other European leagues on a break thanks to international football, we looked at the bookings awarded so far this season to ascertain the impact of the new rules that have come into play.

We collated the booking data for MD1-MD4 from the 2018-19 season to the 2023-24 season, ranging from total cards awarded to also looking at it on a granular level (teams, players and managers).

Highest Number Of Bookings In The Last Five Seasons

The current season, from MD1 to MD4, has seen 185 bookings (176 yellow cards and nine red cards). At the same stage last season, the figure was 150 bookings (147 yellows and three reds).

That amounts to a 23.33% increase in bookings and triple the number of red cards compared to the previous season.

The average amount of bookings for this time span, from the 2018-19 season to the 2022-23 season, was 137.8. The current season has surpassed that average by 34.25%.

The current season has matched the number of red cards awarded in 2018-19, where MD1 to MD4 saw nine red cards being dished out.

However, it is important to note that we are considering bookings awarded on the field for this research. Alexis Mac Allister’s red card against Chelsea was rescinded

Significant Rise In Managers Being Booked

One might be tempted to blame Mikel Arteta on the sidelines last season for new rules being introduced regarding managers' dissent. Their impact has been felt sharply, as managers have been shown a card nine times already.

Comparing this figure (from MD1 to MD4) for seasons 2018-19 to 2022-23 shows a steep increase, with managers given a card 11 times in that four-year period.

Among managers, it is Arteta’s compatriot Marco Silva who’s been the most unfortunate in this time period, having been booked four times, with two of those coming at the Emirates in different seasons.

The Fulham manager has already been booked thrice this season. First at Goodison Park, then at Craven Cottage and the third one coming in the 2-2 draw at the Emirates, where Arteta also received a yellow card from Paul Tierney.

Teams With Most Bookings

Eddie Howe’s Newcastle are tied with Wolves and Fulham for most bookings this season (14). The Magpies have been awarded 14 yellow cards, Wolves have 13 yellow cards and a red, and Fulham have 12 yellows and two reds.

Newcastle have seen a significant increase in cards awarded when compared to last season, where they had eight bookings at this point.

Brighton have seen a significant increase in the number of bookings this season. The Seagulls have amassed 13 yellow cards, compared to five at this point in 2022-23. Ange Postecoglou’s high-flying Tottenham are in the same boat - 11 bookings this season compared to six last season.

Man Utd have the highest number of cards among the “Big 6” this season, with 12 yellow cards awarded; two less than what they had last season.

Arsenal have the same amount of bookings (6) at this point when compared to last season. The only difference is that all six of their bookings last season were yellow cards, while this season, it’s five yellows and a red.

Manchester City have the least number of bookings (3) this season so far - they had four bookings at this point last season. Liverpool have doubled their card count on all fronts from last season - 3 yellows and 1 red card in 2022-23 and 6 yellows and 2 reds in 2023-24.

Another interesting point to note is that ten teams have booking numbers in double figures this season compared to four last season, thus showcasing the increase in the frequency of players being booked.

Methodology

• The booking data for each season was sourced from OPTA
• The time span was the first four matchdays for each season
• Two yellow cards have been counted as 1 red card in our analysis
• We have analysed cards awarded during the match for the analysis which is why it shows two red cards for Liverpool
• this season despite the red card for Alexis Mac Allister being rescinded later
• All seasons had had 40 games played by MD4 except 2023-24 where the Luton-Burnley match was postponed

The entire dataset can be accessed here.

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