How the Club World Cup has seen a unexpected flurry of red cards

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The knockout rounds of the Club World Cup begin this weekend, starting with Palmeiras and Botafogo returning to Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field just two days after 64,811 fans withstood the pouring rain to watch Vinicius Junior come alive with Real Madrid.
Everyone's hoping for some magic in the round of 16 and, if the group stage matches were any indication, we can expect plenty more drama too.
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With the final whistle of group play now behind us, one of the major talking points from this competition so far has been the volume of disciplinary action handed down by referees. Across 48 games so far, 10 red cards have been issued.
River Plate's disappointing exit fueled the conversation even further, with Marcos Acuna's heated exchange with Inter Milan's Denzel Dumfries serving as the powder keg that set off tensions on the pitch even after the final whistle.
While it's correct to say this year's Club World Cup has yielded nearly as many red cards in the group stage as the previous three editions combined, doing so without the necessary context could be misleading. That's because this summer's Club World Cup is the first to feature 32 teams, a dramatic increase from the seven in 2023, which skews most comparisons.
Still, this group stage begs the question: Why are we seeing so much red? Is the competition more physical than usual? Is it pure coincidence that half the players who received red cards play in Argentina? How does this Club World Cup compare to other 32-team competitions, like recent World Cups?
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We explore these topics below, and more.
Who has seen red?
The first red card of the tournament came on its second day when Atletico Madird's Clement Lenglet earned his marching orders against Paris Saint-Germain. The most recent came on Wednesday when River Plate duo Lucas Martinez Quarta and Gonzalo Montiel were both sent off in that fiery encounter with Inter.
Red cards have been issued to: Clement Lenglet, Atletico Madrid; Jorge Figal, Boca Juniors; Andrea Belotti, Benfica; Ander Herrera, Boca Juniors; Rico Lewis, Man City; Nicholas Jackson, Chelsea; Kevin Castano, River Plate; Raul Asencio, Real Madrid; Lucas Martinez Quarta, River Plate; Gonzalo Montiel, River Plate.
What do the numbers say?
While the sport's data revolution hasn't changed how we track disciplinary records, the counting numbers often tell an illuminating story.
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To compare the strictness of officiating in this Club World Cup, we surveyed the group stages of the five most recent men's World Cups, as well as the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League. Some stats don't seem too out of sorts — for example, referees are showing one yellow card for every 6.96 fouls this summer, nearly identical to the 6.93 fouls/yellow clip seen in Qatar.
Note that the table below is for each game rather than for individual teams per game. We're looking at how often whistles are blown and cards are shown, regardless of who the infractor was. All data pulled from TruMedia via StatsPerform (Opta).
Despite this tournament's branding, it's wise to think of it more in line with the Champions League — or any other club competition — than the international game's biggest tournament.
You can also see VAR's impact, with its Big Brother-esque surveillance holding players accountable. After 13 players were sent off in the group stage of the 2010 men's World Cup and nine were shown red in 2014, both the 2018 and 2022 installments saw just three and two dismissals respectively. To illustrate it on a rate basis, that's a a dismissal for every 431.7 fouls in 2018 and every 579 fouls in 2022.
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That's a far more lenient clip than what we saw in 2010 (a dismissal after every 113.4 fouls) and 2014 (151.9). Even with 10 ejections in this Club World Cup, the ensuing rate of 118.3 is very similar to what we saw at the final Champions League with a group-and-knockout format (109.3).
The past decade of the club game has also seen significant changes to what draws a red card. Only recently was one player touching an opponent's face seen as an indisputable red card offense. Time-wasting draws more yellows, from goalkeepers dawdling about with restarts to players kicking a ball away from a rival after the whistle blows. The slo-mo nature of VAR also elevates more 'clear yellows' into 'soft reds', arguably, though everything about that process remains as subjective as the on-field officiating.
At this tournament, we've seen players clearly motivated by the lucrative prize pot. The red hot American summer may also be elevating tempers and teams had no precedent for what to expect in a 32-team Club World Cup.
As this tournament can't match the singular prestige of a World Cup, perhaps players feel more emboldened to show their studs and throw elbows they'd otherwise need to restrain for their national teams. Reputations will be impacted, sure, but hardly to a comparable extent as what transpires during the sport's largest international showcase.
The Argentinian outliers
River Plate and Boca Juniors, the two Argentine clubs in the tournament, had five players sent off during the group stage, accounting for fully half of the total red cards during that part of the competition. Neither team advanced to the knockout stage but both sides left both positive and negative impressions on opposing managers and opponents.
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was in awe after watching Boca open the tournament against Benfica and Bayern Munich. 'I love when you play against South American teams… I admire how they defend,' Guardiola said. 'I watch Boca Juniors go after every ball and it's like… wow, it's the end of the world (for them).'
Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany echoed Guardiola. 'It was not easy because we played against an aggressive team, with a lot of passion,' he said after the German club defeated Boca 2-1 in Miami on June 20. Kompany added that playing against a team like Boca forced his players to maintain your composure. He's right.
The aggressive nature of South American football is meant to unsettle the opposition. It's one way to level the playing field when the opponent is clearly better on paper. Whether it's a series of tactical fouls or a fair challenge that sends a message, the intent is to draw the opponent into their head space.
The risk, of course, is being punished by the referee.
So what next?
As the stakes increase in the knockout stage, the coming days will give an indication as to whether the steady stream of red cards is likely to continue. With a competition that is essentially new, it is difficult to predict how things will play out. The further we get into the bracket, the potential to create some history by winning the first Club World Cup on this scale, and to secure the highest share of a monumental prize fund, becomes very real.
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While predicting a red card recipient is a fool's errand, if you're seeking a potential candidate, how about Botafogo's Gregore, who (hat tip to 's Duncan Alexander for the info) personally conceded three more fouls (16) in the group stage than the entire Auckland City team across its three matches.
Perhaps it would be wrong to move on though without a final word for River Plate, who treated their vow of physicality with the utmost seriousness. River became the first ever side to receive three red cards in a single edition of the Club World Cup, and, before departing, also topped the group -stage charts for both fouls conceded and total cards.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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