Dirtiest European Football Derbies

The Old Firm one of the DIRTIEST derbies according to new discipline data

When Scottish football giants Celtic and Rangers clash, they average nearly five yellows and 0.4 red cards per game, which makes the fixture one of the dirtiest derbies in the UK and Europe.

OLBG have analysed the number of fouls, yellow and red cards in some of Europe's biggest and most fiercely-contested derbies since the start of the 2010/11 season and found that the Old Firm is one of the dirtiest. 

In the UK, only Newcastle vs Sunderland averages more red cards than the Old Firm at 0.5 per game in the last 12 games. 

0.4 red cards per game between Celtic and Rangers puts the Old Firm ahead of the Merseyside derby, north London derby, south Wales and Manchester derby for the number of expected red cards.

Cards are to be expected on Saturday with over 5.5 cards odds-on at 8/13 and under 6/5. Rangers pair Connor Goldson and Tom Lawrence are the most-likely players to be sent off at 25/1. 

For average yellow cards per game, the Old Firm sinks to eighth highest (4.63 per game) with Sunderland vs Newcastle, Arsenal vs Tottenham and Barcelona vs Real Madrid averaging a higher amount.

Celtic and Rangers average 13.8 fouls per derby, with a staggering 414 fouls in 30 games.

The north London derby averages 0.11 less red cards per game compared to the Old Firm, but average 0.16 yellow cards higher, which could suggest Arsenal and Tottenham could be a more heated match, but they don’t put in as many dangerous tackles.

The Merseyside derby surprisingly comes across as one of the more tame battles between local rivals, averaging the joint-second lowest red cards in Europe at 0.13 per game.

Real Madrid are involved in the first and second most total fouls in Europe, in their games against Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, but are a master of the dark arts in football because they average less red cards than other derbies. 

A OLBG spokesperson said: “For anyone backing a yellow or red card this weekend, look no further than the Old Firm as they average 4.63 yellows and 0.4 reds per game.

Those placing bets with bookies should also look towards the Milan derby this weekend, as they average even more bookings per game compared to the Old Firm.

However, you may want to think twice about a red card bet for the Merseyside clash on Saturday, as both the Liverpool-based teams only average 0.13 red cards since 2010.”

Old Firm and Dirty European Derbies Statistics

Celtic vs Rangers games since start of 2010/11 season:

GAMES - 30

YELLOW CARDS - 139

RED CARDS - 12

FOULS - 414

Yellow, red cards and fouls in derbies since the start of the 2010/11 season

*including second yellow cards