Every Chelsea red card this season ranked from unlucky to unforgivable | OneFootball

The Blues have the joint-most red cards in a Premier League season - with 10 games left

Pedro Neto’s red card against Arsenal was Chelsea’s seventh in the Premier League this season.

And there are still 10 games to play, plus cup competitions, suggesting Chelsea could take that unwanted record outright if matters don’t improve.

Their ill discipline is a “deep-lying” problem, according to Maresca’s successor, Liam Rosenior.

Here, Standard Sport has ranked all ten cards from most to least forgivable.

Joao Pedro against Benfica

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10 - Joao Pedro (Chelsea 1-0 Benfica, September 30, 2025)

This was a harsh sending off. Both of the yellow cards shown to the Brazilian on this Champions League night could easily have been ignored or flagged for a foul and nothing more. His marching orders came in the very last of the six minutes of stoppage time at the end of the game when he went in to win the ball but was penalised for a high foot. Soft? Yes. But he gave the ref a decision to make when the game was won in a moment of naivety.

9 - Moises Caicedo (Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal, November 30, 2025)

It’s a challenge he didn’t have to make, but it wasn’t malicious or intentional from Moises Caicedo, as he lunged in on Mikel Merino but caught the man, stud to foot, rather than the ball. It was a clear red card but not a moment of madness.

8 - Wesley Fofana (Chelsea 1-1 Burnley, February 21, 2026)

Fofana should never have been given his first booking, but he put himself on the wrong side of fortune when he went reaching and landed not on the ball but on James Ward-Prowse’s foot with studs showing. It was a challenge he didn’t need to make, and not only did Chelsea go on to forfeit their lead against Burnley to draw, it also saw Fofana suspended for the match against Arsenal.

7 - Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea 1-3 Brighton, September 27, 2025)

A bit like Robert Sanchez below, Chalobah was punished for a last-man challenge that denied a clear goalscoring opportunity. Chelsea were 1-0 up against Brighton at the time and Chalobah was trying to win the ball but Dario Gomez nudged it away. A straight red as clear as day. It’s hard not to look at the context of the game when ranking these sendings off. Chelsea went from a goal up to 3-1 losers on home soil.

Robert Sanchez against Manchester United

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6 - Robert Sanchez (Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea, September 20, 2025)

Some will argue Sanchez had to come tearing out and make the challenge on Bryan Mbeumo when the Cameroonian went through one-on-one, but Maresca said after the match he’d have rather gone a goal down than a man down after five minutes at Old Trafford. I’m inclined to agree. It was a late challenge as the last man, which gave the referee no other option. Justifiable, yes, but still poor decision-making.

5 - Marc Cucurella (Fulham 2-1 Chelsea, January 7, 2026)

Another red for a last-man challenge to deny a clear goalscoring opportunity. Was Cucurella fouled in the lead-up by Harry Wilson? Perhaps. But he gave the referee no choice but to send him off after just 22 minutes at Craven Cottage when he then allowed Wilson to get the wrong side and hauled him back by grabbing his arm. Instant red. Chelsea’s night immediately more difficult. They lost 2-1 in the west London derby.

4 - Enzo Maresca (Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool, October 4, 2025)

Yellow-carded for remonstrating with the referee, the former Chelsea head coach was sent off in stoppage time for leaving his technical area on a Jose Mourinho-style sprint down the touchline to celebrate Estevao’s dramatic late winner with his players by the corner flag. A nice moment, yes, but a rather mind-numbing reason to pick up a touchline ban.

3 - Malo Gusto (Nottingham Forest 0-3 Chelsea, October 18, 2025)

The first booking was rather harsh, but the second was a moment of madness from Gusto. If it had happened under Rosenior’s watch, you can be sure the Englishman would have been having stern words with his defender over his decision-making. Lunging into a slide challenge when 3-0 up with the ball in the opponents’ half after 87 minutes: go figure.

2 - Pedro Neto (Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea, March 1, 2026)

Not much different to Gusto’s, but the difference is that Chelsea were trailing 2-1 at the time Neto got himself sent off away from home against the Premier League leaders, and it was hard not feel by the end that the Portuguese winger’s dismissal was a significant factor in Chelsea leaving the Emirates empty-handed.

The first yellow card was for arguing with referee Darren England when feeling Arsenal’s second goal shouldn’t have stood. The second was a slide challenge on Gabriel Martinelli who was leading a one-man counter-attack and going nowhere. Neto slid in, took him down, then argued with the decision. He’s now suspended for Wednesday’s trip to Villa Park.

Liam Delap against Wolves

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1 - Liam Delap (Wolves 3-4 Chelsea, October 29, 2025)

On his long return from injury, Delap first took Yerson Mosquera’s bait and snapped back at the centre-back, lunging in and wrestling him to the ground. Booking. Then, backpedalling to take down a long ball with his back to goal, Delap thrust an elbow into Emmanuel Agbadou’s face. Booking number two and off he went.