New York Red Cards and The Fair Play Table

As I was browsing for some interesting topics to throw at you today, I ran across the leagues official “Fair Play Table,” MLS version of the UEFA equivalent, where teams are ranked according to how many infractions are found against them. And if the numbers weren’t of interest, I wouldn’t be bringing this up.

But lets digress for a second. How do they calculate these rankings? Here is the explanation from MLS:

MLS Teams are assessed fair play points and ranked in the fair play table as follows:

* 4 points for each caution point received (e.g. 5 cautions = 20 points)
* 10 points for each red card earned (e.g. 5 red cards in a year = 50 points)
* .5 points for each foul committed (e.g. 400 fouls = 200 points)
* A reduction of 15 points for every game played by a team without their receiving either a yellow or red card, or a member of their team being a recipient of MLS Disciplinary Committee action in conjunction with that game (e.g. 3 “clean” games = -45 points).

The team with the least amount of points at the end of the regular season will be awarded the Kraft Team Fair Play Award.

Currently, out of the leagues 15 teams, Red Bull ranks as the second dirtiest side in the league, just ahead of last place Chivas USA, whom coincedently are first in the Western tables. What a contrast, no?

Here are the lowlights that have brought the Red Bulls to this unenviable position:

- 3 red cards against the team is currently tops in the league, tied only with the LA Galaxy.
- 12 yellow cards, with 7 games, seems to be this seasons norm, as other teams like the Rapids. Not that it is a justification of course.
- Those 12 yellow cards equals out to 1.7 yellows per game thus far.
- 98 fouls committed, which averages out to 14 infractions per game.
- The Bulls are averaging 18 pts per game according to the leagues fair play model.

You get the idea.

To be “fair” (no pun intended), I would be lax not to point out that the Red Bulls have played 7 games, which only 2 other teams in the league can say. Everyone else has played either 5 or 6 games, tops.

But either way you look at it, the team has found itself taking desperate fouls early on in the season, costing them valuable points throughout this putrid 7 game stretch. What do you make of all of this, if anything at all?

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