Former Colombian international Gerardo Bedoya is football’s is first on list of players with the most red cards. The defensive midfielder, who played for Racing, Millionarios, Boca Juniors and the Colombian national team was sent off a staggering 46 times. After his spells as player he became the manager of Colombian side Independiente Sante Fe. It will come as no surprise to you that he was sent to the stands during his first game in charge.

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is runner up on our list of players with the most red cards in football.

The Real Madrid and Spain legend picked up his 26th red card in the Champions League loss against Manchester City. A physically strong player and aggressive tackler, he is considered one of the best defenders in the modern era of football. At 34, he holds the records for the most red cards in La Liga (20) as well as in the Champions League (6).

Footballer turned actor Vinnie Jones is the only British player on the list. Jones, who played for Wimbledon and Chelsea among other Premier League clubs, was known for his hard man image. He was sent off 12 times in his career and holds the record for the quickest ever booking in a football match. In an FA Cup tie between Chelsea and Sheffield United in 1992, he was shown a yellow card for a foul on Dane Whitehouse after just three seconds.

The bronze medal goes to midfielder Cyril Rool, who played for a number of French top clubs including Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice and Monaco. His absurdly aggressive, and at time reckless, style of play landed him 25 red cards and 187 yellow cards.

The current manager of Italian Serie C club Sambenedettese, Paolo Montero holds the record for most red cards in Serie A history. He was sent off 16 times in the Italian league and 21 times in all competitions.

A talented defender for Atalanta and Juventus, Montero was also frequently criticized for his aggression and hard tackling playing style throughout his career. Ryan Giggs described Montero and Ciro Ferrara, his defensive teammate at Juventus, as “the toughest defenders I have ever played against”.

Alexis Ruano, known simply as Alexis, is a Spanish central defender who plays for second division club Racing de Santander. In addition to collecting 22 red cards during his career, he was accused of match fixing during a short spell at the Turkish side Beciktac.

The successful Argentine manager became a professional footballer after learning judo as a child. Perhaps this influenced him during his time playing as a centre-back for the likes of Espanyol, Paris Saint-Germain and Bordeaux. His tough tackling earned him 13 red cards during his playing career.

During his professional career, Pepe played for Marítimo, Porto, Real Madrid, and Beciktas, with individual and team success with the middle two clubs. A quick, aggressive, physically strong, and tenacious defender, Pepe is known for his work-rate and hard-tackling style of play; due to his height, he is also an aerial threat on set-pieces. While he usually plays as a centre-back, he has also been deployed as a defensive midfielder at international level. However, despite his defensive abilities, he has also drawn criticism in the media due to his tendency to pick up cards, as he has often shown violent or unsportsmanlike behaviour, which includes diving, on the pitch. He hold 47 yellow cards and 3 red cards.