The Referee Report: how Premier League refs are affecting games

There are plenty of jobs out there that you look at and think, "I could do that"... but we can guarantee one occupation you'd think twice before having a go at: the role of a Premier League referee.

Being a referee in what might be the most competitive league in the world comes with its own unique set of challenges - not least being branded a w**ker anytime you blow that whistle and make a call that displeases the other side, even if it's right.

A thick skin is required to make it at the top, as well as a keen sense of discipline. After all, you wouldn't want to be seen as a pushover, would you?

Here at AceOdds, we've taken a look into exactly which Premier League referees are the most no-nonsense when it comes to dishing out their cards.

Who are the most card-happy referees in the Premier League in the last 5 years?

To the great surprise of absolutely no one, Mike Dean tops the charts when it comes to referees who have handed out the most cards per game over the past 5 years - both yellows AND reds!

The iconic Dean - England's answer to Pierluigi Collina - has become a staple of English football over the years. He has become so famous that he even appeared on television's Ted Lasso as a fictionalised version of himself, booking the assistant manager for calling him a "d*ckless wonder", only to comment as he saunters away that he's "been called worse". Given his track record for disciplinary actions, you'd suspect he's probably right.

He averages nearly 4 yellow cards per game and a red card every 5 games. It just goes to show that Mike Dean isn't a referee to be trifled within this league.

At the other end of the spectrum, you've got Simon Hooper, who, with 42 Premier League games under his belt, is still yet to give someone a straight red card. His sending off per game rate means that every 20 games he'll send someone off, probably only because his hand was forced when a player has got a gun out and shot someone, and even then, it'll likely be a second yellow for unsportsmanlike conduct.

2021/2022's Strictest Referees

It would appear that Mike Dean has mellowed in his old age, as this season, Anthony Taylor looks to take up the mantle of most authoritarian ref. After all, why not, if that's what it takes to get yourself on TV and nail your status as a celebrity referee?

With 4 sendings off this season already, he is averaging a sending off almost every 4 games - take THAT Mike - and is also looking at 4 yellow cards per game to top that off. 4 definitely seems to be Anthony Taylor's magic number this year.

Featuring at the bottom again is trusty Simon Hooper. Happy not to send anyone off and make sure everyone on the pitch has a nice time. Bless him.

Who are the best referees for your Premier League team?

Premier League referees go through their entire lives being accused of bias. Of course, with a sport as tribal as football this is always a given, but as superstitions go there are definitely some referees you should have some trepidation about when they’re announced as your next match official.

While a lot fall into the categories you might expect - Manchester City feature heavily in highest win percentage because they happen to win a lot - there are a few surprises in there when it comes to teams you wouldn’t expect to find in the upper echelons of the league table.

Michael Oliver, otherwise known as the hardest working man in Premier League officiating, has a total of 138 games under his belt in the last 5 years.

Of the 7 games he has officiated for Southampton, they have seen a remarkable 86% win rate - which is a staggering percentage considering their form has hardly set the world alight in recent years. Though, in fairness to Michael Oliver, he did send somebody off for The Saints in one of them…

David Coote is another curious case. While Everton are his favourites with 86% from 7 games, which is strange in and of itself, the real head-scratcher on this one is that West Ham are yet to win a game where Coote has been in charge.

While Coote isn’t the harshest when it comes to booking the Hammers - or even sending them off - his record is sure to provoke large groans whenever the match officials are confirmed over the London Stadium’s tannoy.

The full breakdown of Premier League refereeing across each team

Here you can see the full breakdown for every referee and team in the Premier League as it stands - with the exception of Brentford, as they haven't been in the league long enough for us to make a fair judgement!

Feel free to dive in and wildly speculate about which referees are clearly biased against your team while carefully ignoring the match officials you assumed had a vendetta against you but are actually quite kind on balance. After all, that's what football's about, isn't it?

If this article has wet your whistle to place a bet on the number of yellow cards or red cards a referee is likely to give out, or simply to bet on whether a team will win or lose once the officials have been announced, use our free bet calculator to work out your winnings.

Methodology

Using data provided by Statbunker, we have analysed the performance of Premier League referees over the previous 5 seasons: 2017/2018, 2018/2019, 2019/2020, 2020/2021, 2021/2022.

Data concerning referees overall was used for referees who have officiated more than 30 games in the last 5 years.

Data concerning referees in the 2021/2022 season was used for referees who have officiated more than 10 games so far this season. Data was collected on 01/03/2022. Any games that occur after this time have not been counted in this study.

Data concerning specific clubs was used for referees who have officiated more than 5 games in the last 5 years. As such, Brentford do not feature in this study as they do not have the prerequisite 5 games minimum from any referees.