Valentin Ivanov Oversees 4-Red Portugal Win — Most Red Cards In A World Cup Match

Portugal vs Netherlands in 2006 holds the record for the most red cards in a world cup match, with referee Valentin Ivanov sending off four players. Two red cards went to each team, making the match the benchmark for dismissals in a single World Cup game.

Valentin Ivanov And Four Dismissals

Ivanov’s control of that match became the defining number: four red cards, split evenly between Portugal and the Netherlands. No other World Cup match has produced more dismissals.

The scale stands out even in a tournament with a long disciplinary history. Brazil top the all-time list for red cards in World Cup history, but that reflects volume across many matches. Portugal-Netherlands is different because the record came in one game.

2006 World Cup Discipline

The 2006 World Cup in Germany produced 28 players sent off, the most of any men’s tournament. That same year, Wayne Rooney was dismissed against Portugal in the quarter-finals after a stamp on Ricardo Carvalho, Graham Poll mistakenly issued three yellow cards to Croatia’s Josip Šimunić before finally sending him off, and Zinedine Zidane was red-carded in the final for headbutting Marco Materazzi.

Those incidents help explain why the 2006 tournament sits apart in the record book, but the Portugal-Netherlands match remains the single game where discipline collapsed the most. It is the only World Cup match on this list with four red cards.

World Cup Red Card Records

Cameroon have received nine red cards in 26 World Cup matches, while Japan have played 25 World Cup matches without receiving one. The contrast shows how widely World Cup discipline can swing from team to team.

For readers looking for the clearest answer, the match to remember is Portugal vs Netherlands in 2006. Four red cards in one game is the record, and Ivanov showed all of them.