World Cup Red Cards: 2026 Has More Red Cards Than Last 2 World Cups

Referees have been unusually strict: in the first 27 games of the 2026 World Cup there were more red cards than in all of 2018 and 2022 combined, pushing toward the single‑tournament record of 28 (2006).
Several big moments were decided by sendings‑off — Qatar were reduced to nine and lost a player to a stretcher vs Canada, Bosnia-Herzegovina went down to ten against Switzerland, and Mexico’s games featured multiple reds (one led to a three‑game ban).
FOX rules analyst Mark Clattenburg says the uptick reflects panic fouls around the box rather than bad behavior — and larger 26‑player rosters make taking a suspension less costly.