Fede Viñas on track for unwanted La Liga red card record
The Oviedo striker has already been sent off three times this season, putting him one dismissal away from equalling a 21st century La Liga record.
Uruguayan forward Federico Viñas is making headlines for all the wrong reasons as he closes in on an unwanted La Liga record.
The Real Oviedo striker is having quite the rollercoaster season. In Oviedo’s recent clash with Alavés, Viñas perfectly encapsulated his campaign in 90 minutes - scoring to end his team’s seven-match goal drought, missing two clear chances including a one-on-one, and then getting himself sent off when the game was delicately poised at 1-1.
Red mist descending
This latest dismissal - a second yellow for leading with his arm in an aerial challenge - was remarkably his third red card of the season already. With half the campaign still remaining, Viñas is just one dismissal away from equalling the 21st century La Liga record of four red cards in a single season.
That dubious honour is currently shared by Eduardo Berizzo and Alberto Lopo, both defenders who were sent for early baths four times during the 2003-04 season. No player has matched their unwanted record since.
A striker’s anomaly
What makes Viñas’ disciplinary record particularly unusual is his position. Red cards are typically the bread and butter of defenders and defensive midfielders - the players constantly making tackles, committing tactical fouls, and protecting their penalty area.
For a centre-forward to be collecting dismissals at this rate is proper dog’s dinner territory. In fact, since 2000, only seven strikers have managed to receive three red cards in a single La Liga season:
- Xisco Nadal (Levante 2010-11)
- Álvaro Negredo (Sevilla 2009-10)
- Sergio García (Betis 2008-09)
- Aritz Aduriz (Athletic 2006-07)
- Darío Silva (Málaga 2001-02)
- Gerhard Poschner (Rayo 2000-01)
- And now Fede Viñas
Crucially, none of these forwards ever reached the fourth dismissal that would have put them level with the defensive duo at the top of the all-time list.
A matter of style
What’s particularly notable about Viñas’ situation is that two of his three red cards have been straight dismissals for dangerous challenges rather than accumulations of yellows. This suggests moments of madness rather than simply persistent fouling.
With plenty of fixtures still to come, the Uruguayan striker is walking a disciplinary tightrope. One more moment of rashness and he’ll write his name into La Liga history books - though not in the way any professional footballer would hope for.