Highlights

• Eric Cantona's infamous kung-fu kick on a Crystal Palace supporter earned him a red card and a nine-month ban from football.
• Steven Taylor's cheeky handball blocked Aston Villa's shot, resulting in his dismissal and a penalty against Newcastle United.
• Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer's violent on-field brawl led to both players receiving red cards in a 3-0 defeat for Newcastle United.

Since the Premier League's inception in 1992, there have been a host of controversial moments which have altered the outcome of games. The decision to send off a player is never taken lightly by a referee as they cannot afford to make an error at this level due to the competitiveness of each match.

For as much as VAR gets a bad wrap these days, it has at least helped rule out some of the more blatant errors in the top flight of English football. Before it was introduced at the beginning of the 2019/2020 season, however, officials only got the opportunity to see incidents once before having to make a snap decision. Naturally, this sometimes led to big mistakes.

Still, not every entry on the list below comes as a consequence of some poor officiating. Indeed, there are examples where a player totally deserves to be given a red card, but they feature in this article because what they did to get sent off is just so unique.

With that said, here at GIVEMESPORT, we've compiled and ranked the 10 most bizarre red card incidents in Premier League history. Check out the list below!

10 Eric Cantona

Crystal Palace vs Manchester United (1995)

This is one example where it was hard to argue against referee Alan Wilkie's decision to send Eric Cantona off for his ridiculous challenge on Richard Shaw in 1995. But it's not the red card itself, but rather the Manchester United forward's actions after receiving his marching orders that see him take his place on this list.

Instead of leaving the pitch gracefully, the Frenchman decided to launch a kung-fu-style kick at a vociferous Crystal Palace supporter. Cantona's moment of madness eventually earned him a nine-month ban from football. He at least had no regrets about the incident, later telling The Guardian: “My best moment? I have a lot of good moments but the one I prefer is when I kicked the hooligan.”

9 Steven Taylor

Newcastle United vs Aston Villa (2005)

Introduced as a substitute in the second half of Newcastle United's meeting with Aston Villa in 2005, Steven Taylor would have been hoping to make a positive impact at St James' Park. However, with Darius Vassell looking certain to double the visitors' advantage after rounding the goalkeeper, Taylor managed to produce a monumental stop as he blocked the forward's shot with his hand in the penalty area.

Despite an incredible piece of acting which made it look as if he had been struck in the face by the ball, the Newcastle man was dismissed. He may have fooled fans looking on from the stands, but the referee was in the perfect position to spot the cheeky handball. Gareth Barry then converted from the spot to compound the misery. Somehow, though, this wasn't even the craziest incident of the game. More on that later...

8 Steve Cook

Norwich City vs AFC Bournemouth (2020)

Another spectacular handball, Steve Cook decided to produce an incredible stop during AFC Bournemouth's clash with Norwich City. After Aaron Ramsdale had rushed out of goal to make a fine save, the ball fell to Ondrej Duda on the edge of the box. His effort looked destined to open the scoring at Carrow Road but Cook had other ideas.

He pulled off a finger-tip save – that Ramsdale would have been proud of – to tip the ball past the post. Unsurprisingly shown a red card for this particular act, Cook was forced to watch on from the sidelines as the Canaries sealed a 1-0 victory.

7 Robin van Persie

Stoke City vs Arsenal (2008)

With his side trailing 2-0 to Stoke City, Robin van Persie was unable to contain his frustration as he naively clashed with Thomas Sorensen in the second half of Arsenal's 2008 showdown with Tony Pulis' team. The goalkeeper was slow to pick the ball up, trying to waste some time, and so the Dutch striker challenged him with a forceful shoulder charge.

The Dutchman was given his marching orders by referee Rob Styles after barging into the Potters shot-stopper as the Gunners slumped to defeat in Staffordshire. This wasn't the only bizarre red card of his career, having also been unfairly sent off against Barcelona in the Champions League. This Premier League dismissal was far less controversial though.

6 Kieran Gibbs

Chelsea vs Arsenal (2014)

In a rare case of mistaken identity, referee Andre Marriner decided to dismiss Kieran Gibbs for a handball that was actually committed by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in Arsenal's 6-0 defeat to Chelsea. Although the defender's red card was eventually rescinded, the damage was already done in this particular fixture as the Gunners were completely humiliated by the Blues at Stamford Bridge.

Incredibly, Oxlade-Chamberlain would not technically receive the first red card of his professional career for another nine years. In December 2023, he was sent off for Besiktas, after he kicked out against a Lugano (of Switzerland) player, sparking a mass brawl. Talk about long overdue.

5 Youssouf Mulumbu

West Ham United vs West Bromwich Albion (2013)

With the clock ticking down in West Bromwich Albion's match-up with West Ham United in 2013, Youssouf Mulumbu picked up one of the most ridiculous red cards in Premier League history. The former Baggies midfielder was dribbling with the ball before being tripped.

It was a fairly innocuous foul, albeit a little cynical, with Gary O'Neill not even doing enough to send Mulumbu to the ground. The referee blew his whistle to award the free kick, and the midfielder had completely lost his head. He picked the ball up and smashed it at the opposition player. He was rightfully sent off.

4 Cesc Fabregas

West Bromwich Albion vs Chelsea (2015)

Another avoidable dismissal, Cesc Fabregas suffered a huge lapse of judgement during Chelsea's 3-0 defeat to West Brom in 2015. With the Blues trailing 1-0 to the Baggies at The Hawthorns, the Spaniard seemed to lose his temper while the referee was in discussions with the home side after a foul had been given.

Standing 20 yards away, Fabregas launched the ball at Chris Brunt, hitting him on the head with trademark accuracy. The referee had no choice but to reach for the red card and so the Blues were forced to play the last 60 minutes with ten men as a result.

3 Frederic Piquionne

Everton vs West Ham United (2011)

Frederic Piquionne's over-exuberant celebration during West Ham's clash with Everton resulted in him being shown a second yellow card by referee Peter Walton. It was the right call, by the letter of the law, but just so incredibly harsh.

The forward decided to jump into the crowd to celebrate with the Hammers' travelling supporters at Goodison Park after scoring in the 84th minute of the clash. To make matters worse, Piquionne's header was cancelled out by Marouane Fellaini's injury-time strike as West Ham were forced to settle for a point.

2 Ricardo Fuller

Stoke City vs West Ham United (2008)

After seeing his Stoke side concede an equaliser in their clash with West Ham, forward Ricardo Fuller decided to slap his team-mate and captain Andy Griffin in the face. He had the right to try and fire his teammates up, but he certainly overstepped the line here.

Unsurprisingly shown a straight red card by referee Mike Jones for this incident, Fuller was unable to prevent the Potters from suffering a 2-1 defeat to the Hammers. He later doubled down on his behaviour, saying that Griffin had been "very rude and disrespectful".

1 Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer

Newcastle United vs Aston Villa (2005)

The winner of our rankings is another example where two teammates clashed as if they were bitter rivals. With his side already down to 10 men due to Taylor's dismissal – yes, this was the same game – Newcastle boss Graeme Souness would have both been fearing the worst at St James' Park during the club's clash with Villa.

However, no one could have predicted what would happen next in this particular game. An astonishing bust-up between Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer which saw the two Newcastle players trade punches resulted in both midfielders receiving red cards in one of the most bizarre incidents in Premier League history. The Magpies would go on to suffer a 3-0 defeat to Villa in a match where they also conceded two penalties.

Dyer would later explain how he didn't ever realise such behaviour could end up in both players getting a red card, saying:

"I think he hit me four times. The punches didn’t hurt but by the time the fourth punch came in, I thought ‘f*** this’ and launched one back at him. Gareth Barry rushed in to restrain Bow and drag him away. Bow’s shirt was ripped down to his chest and he was still snarling and snapping and trying to get himself free." He then added: "I was relatively calm, but I looked over at Bow again and he was frothing and raging. I didn’t realise that you could get sent off for fighting your team-mate."