We are not even halfway through the Scottish Premiership season and Kilmarnock have already received a whopping six red cards – but are they the “dirtiest” team?
Robbie Deas was the latest Killie player to receive his marching orders only six minutes into his side’s 1-0 win against Hearts last Sunday.
But to work whether Killie are the “dirtiest” team in the Premiership so far this season, we have looked at the stat.
When it comes to red cards there is no competition with Derek McInnes’ team well out in front with their six sending offs.
Hibernian are second with four red cards, with St Mirren and St Johnstone both on three.
Ross County and Motherwell have both received two red cards, while Hearts, Dundee and Rangers are on one.
Aberdeen, Dundee United and Celtic are the three teams yet to experience a numerical disadvantage this term.
Dons lead the way for bookings
But while the Dons are yet to have a player sent off this season, they are top of the league for bookings – with 49 yellow cards across their 16 games.
That is seven more than St Mirren (42), with Hearts and Dundee United both on 41 bookings.
Despite their plethora of red cards, Kilmarnock are near the bottom of the table for yellow cards with only 29 yellows.
Only Celtic (19) and Motherwell (27) have received fewer bookings than the Ayrshire side.
St Johnstone are fifth for bookings with 35, with Dundee and Rangers on 33.
Hibernian and Ross County have both received 31 bookings.
Saints are the real sinners
In order to determine who the dirtiest team in the Premiership are so far this season, we have awarded teams one disciplinary point for a yellow card and three points for a red card.
That puts St Mirren at the top of our table with a combined score of 51 points from their 17 games this season, with the Dons – who have only played 16 times – in second spot on 49.
Kilmarnock with their low yellow card count, but remarkably high red card count, are in third spot on 47.
Unsurprisingly, a Celtic team who spend the majority of time in league games in possession and attacking are bottom of the table with only 19 disciplinary points.
Buddies lead the way with fouls
St Mirren also lead the way when it comes to fouls committed during games this season.
According to FotMob, the Buddies commit an average of 12.7 fouls in a game.
Hibernian are second with 11.9, with St Johnstone in third spot on 11.8.
The Dons and Rangers are on an average of 11.7, with Dundee United and Hearts on 11.5.
Next in the table are Motherwell (10.9), Dundee (10.8) and Ross County (10.7).
Kilmarnock are again near the bottom of the table for fouls with an average of 9.8 – with only Celtic on a lower count of 9.7 fouls committed per game.
Dons midfielder is most fouled player
According to FBref, St Mirren striker Toyosi Olusanya has committed the most fouls this season with 36.
St Johnstone’s Benjamin Kimpioka is second on 33, with Celtic’s Daizen Maeda third on 32.
Aberdeen’s defensive midfield duo Sivert Heltne Nilsen (26) and Graeme Shinnie (25) are joint fifth and eighth, respectively, while Ross County forward Jordan White is ninth on 24 fouls committed.
Jamie McGrath, who has enjoyed an impressive season for the Dons, is the most fouled player in the Scottish Premiership after being fouled on 34 occasions.
Dons captain Shinnie is second on 32 fouls won, with Hibernian’s Lewis Miller third on 31.
Hearts man racks up the bookings
Hearts defender James Penrice is the most booked player in the Premiership this season with eight yellow cards.
His Jambos teammate Lawrence Shankland is one of six players on six bookings along with Connor Randall (Ross County), Sivert Heltne Nilsen (Aberdeen), Sven Sprangler (St Johnstone), Olusanya (St Mirren) and Will Ferry (Dundee United).
Two players have received more than one red card this season – and, unsurprisingly, they both play for Kilmarnock. Joe Wright and Liam Donnelly are on two reds.
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