Ranking all FIFTEEN of Jose Mourinho’s red cards in order of ridiculousness | OneFootball

No manager in the history of football has been shown as many red cards as Jose Mourinho, with his latest in Benfica’s clash with Porto the FIFTEENTH of his career.

The 63-year-old coach is getting dismissed with increasing regularity, but it’s been a theme of his career with red cards from his time at Real Madrid, Manchester United and Chelsea before his latter-day spells at Roma, Fenerbahce and Benfica.

We’ve ranked each and every one of Mourinho’s red cards from least to most ridiculous.

15. Roma vs Napoli (2021)

Surprisingly enough, Mourinho was never sent off at Tottenham. Even in a behind-closed-doors era, where referees could presumably hear him as he turned the air blue.

He made up for that at Roma, where he routinely lost the plot.

The Portuguese’s first dismissal with the Giallorossi was in one of his first big games. He received two yellows for gesticulating wildly in his technical area, while his opposite number Luciano Spalletti followed suit after the final whistle.

Referee Davide Massa was in no mood for messing around that night. Something that would become a theme of Mourinho’s second stint in Italy.

14. Chelsea vs Cardiff City (2013)

Malky Mackay’s Cardiff and their sh*thouse timewasting got under Mourinho’s skin. He’d never stoop to such tactics himself, of course.

Chelsea ultimately won out comfortably 4-1 against the sorry Bluebirds, but only after Mourinho was sent to the stands by referee Anthony Taylor for his persistent berating of the referee and fourth official Trevor Kettle for not getting a handle on Cardiff’s underhanded approach.

Pretty standard fare as far as Mourinho blow-outs go. He accepted his £8,000 fine from the FA with relatively minimal fuss.

“What the referee wrote is true,” he reflected.

“I was not aggressive, I was not offensive. I just had a disagreement. That in the game is resolved with: ‘Shut up and sit down.'”

13. Roma vs Atalanta (2024)

“He has been a bundle of energy all night and he is not going to witness the final two minutes of the contest”

As far as Mourinho red cards go, a pretty tame one. A second yellow for mouthing off. Same as it ever was.

12. Man Utd vs Burnley (2016)

Fresh from a 4-0 defeat to his former side Chelsea (ouch), Mourinho’s frustrations spilt over in a goalless draw with Burnley.

He’d only just been charged by the FA for claiming it would be “difficult” for Anthony Taylor to referee a match against Liverpool and admitted living alone in Manchester was “a bit of a disaster”.

Mourinho had been sent to the stands following a half-time tirade at Mark Clattenburg, having disagreed with a decision not to award a penalty for a foul on Matteo Darmian. He originally sat with the fans before moving over to the director’s box.

11. Roma vs Atalanta (2022)

Mourinho had barely been at Roma for 12 months by the time he received his third Serie A red card.

This was a particularly fractious one. He charged onto the pitch and exploded with rage after Nicolo Zaniolo was denied a penalty, the referee instead giving the foul the other way.

Just a few months off his 60th birthday, it’s fair to say he hasn’t mellowed with age.

10. Fenerbahce vs Man Utd (2024)

Mourinho firmly in his ‘tired legacy act wheeling out the hits’ era.

It all just felt a bit tired when Mourinho was sent off during Fenerbahce’s 1-1 Europa League draw with his former flame.

An over-the-top reaction to a bit of a nothing incident.

In fairness, we’ll give him some bonus points for some world-class sarcasm in his post-match press conference.

“He told me something incredible. At the same time, he could see the action in the box and my behaviour on the touchline,” he reacted.

“I congratulate him because he’s absolutely incredible.

“During the game, at 100 miles per hour, he had one eye on the penalty situation, and he had one eye on the bench and on my behaviour.

“That’s the explanation he gave me. That’s why he is one of the best referees in the world.”

9. Benfica vs Porto (2026)

There was a time in which Mourinho going postal on the referees following a spirited comeback in an ill-tempered derby would’ve pure box office.

But as with his latter days at Roma, and Fenerbahce, this raging at the dying of the light is just a sad spectacle. Benfica are seven points off the league leaders and silverware looks increasingly unlikely.

You’re left with a sense that these kind of theatrical sideshows are all he’s got left.

8. Man Utd vs Southampton (2016)

Eat your heart out, Mikel Arteta. This isn’t Soccer Aid, mate.

One of Mourinho’s more memorable dismissals, Mourinho was given his marching orders for encroaching onto the St. Mary’s pitch during a Southampton counter-attack.

To be fair, Mourinho faced no further action, and the FA admitted a mistake was made by not just issuing him a warning.

7. Roma vs Lazio (2024)

It just wouldn’t have been right for Mourinho to end his time at Roma without marking the Derby della Capitale with a red card.

In his final Rome derby, in which Roma exited the Coppa Italia to their city rivals, Mourinho was sent off in the closing stages of the 1-0 defeat along with Lazio winger Pedro (formerly of Roma) and Roma defender Sardar Azmoun.

A portrait of a man on the edge, this was his second red card in as many games (just four days after the Atalanta one) and his sixth(!) and final one for Roma. He watched his final game from the stands before final before finally getting sacked.

6. Real Madrid vs Villarreal (2012)

Unbelievably, the first red card of Mourinho’s managerial career.

He’d had his fair share of disciplinary issues – particularly with UEFA – during his time at Porto, Chelsea and Inter, but actual manager red cards weren’t really the done thing in the noughties.

This was a doozy. Mourinho’s famously fiery assistant Rui Faria was dismissed early in the second half, and Sergio Ramos, Mesut Ozil and the man himself joined him after things exploded in the 85th minute. There were a further 10 yellow cards dished out that night.

Mourinho’s Madrid won the 2011-12 La Liga title in stylish fashion with 100 points and 121 goals scored, but at this stage they’d threatened to implode spectacularly. They lost their heads in a second successive 1-1 draw but regained their composure to win nine of the last 10 in the run-in.

5. Roma vs Cremonese (2023)

A THIRD dismissal midway through Roma’s 2022-23 campaign.

Roma were losing to bottom-of-the-table Cremonese when Mourinho completely lost it and was alleged to have called the referee a “c**t”.

Yeah, that’ll probably do it.

4. Benfica vs Real Madrid (2026)

Mourinho’s red card was understandably overshadowed by the incident involving Vinicius Junior and Benfica winger Gianluca Prestianni.

Not long after the match had been paused following the accusation of racism following a trademark tirade on the touchline that was ultimately pretty unnecessary.

Benfica’s last-gasp heroics in the league phase made us question whether we might see Mourinho back at the top, but he’s surely burned his bridges after letting himself down with his comments on Vinicius.

READ: Ranking the five managers with the most red cards ever: Jose Mourinho and who else?

3. Roma vs Verona (2022)

Mourinho’s second dismissal at Roma was a straight red for losing his rag with the referee before absolutely wellying the ball into the crowd.

His telephone gesture at match official Luca Pairetto was an apparent reference to his father’s alleged involvement in the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal in 2006.

His punishment was a two-match ban and a hefty €20,000 fine.

2. Roma vs Monza (2023)

Scenes we’re contractually obliged to call “classic Jose”.

Roma beat Monza with an injury-time winner in October 2023, but Mourinho got himself sent off in the aftermath for aiming a ‘cry-baby’ gesture in the direction of his opposite number Raffaele Palladino.

He’d evidently not forgiven or forgotten the Monza manager of accusing him of “scandalous behaviour” from their previous meeting a few months prior.

“I don’t know why I got the red card, I only made a gesture to the bench, not a single word,” he said.

“The Monza bench put a lot of pressure on the referee; they shouldn’t have behaved like that.”

1. Fenerbahce vs Galatasaray (2025)

Throwing Jose Mourinho into the bear pit of Turkish football was always a recipe for “scenes we don’t do want to see”, and he certainly lived up to his billing in the Intercontinental Derby.

Like Graeme Souness way back when, there was an inevitability about fireworks when you throw such a forceful personality into such a volatile environment.

Mourinho’s time at Fenerbahce was ultimately something of a damp squib. No silverware, a hasty exit, and a stint he’d later admit he’d regret because the club wasn’t at his true level.

But at least it gave us this ‘got your nose’ classic. Liquid Jose.