Don't kid yourself - foul play in football is still very much a part of the beautiful game, and top tier referees in England have been dishing out the cards with abandon this season, with 883 yellow cards and 36 reds flashed in the 2020/21 Premier League campaign thus far.
Using data from the Premier League's official website, we've tallied up the total number of yellow and red cards, and, by multiplying the latter by two and adding the scores together, allocated each team a overall total for their ill-discipline.
Here's our rundown of the top twenty 'dirtiest' clubs in the history of the Premier League:
1. 20th - Crystal Palace - Total score: 758.
Yellow cards: 708. Red cards: 25. Crystal Palace creep in at number 20, and, in an example of delightful serendipity, current midfielders James McCarthy and James McArthur have both provided exactly 48 bookings. Spooky stuff. Photo: Mike Hewitt
2. 19th - West Bromwich Albion - Total score: 827.
Yellow cards: 757. Red cards: 35. A turbulent return to the Premier League this season has seen the Baggies collect the joint-highest total of red cards. Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher is already in double-figures for bookings. Photo: JULIAN FINNEY
3. 18th - Leeds United - Total score: 889.
Yellow cards: 833. Red cards: 28. Dirty Leeds? Not in the Premier League era, it appears. That said, they were absent for 16 seasons. Alan Smith notched up five sending offs during his Whites heyday, while Lee Bowyer was a veritable yellow submarine. Photo: Laurence Griffiths
4. 17th - Fulham - Total score: 910.
Yellow cards: 828. Red cards: 41. Second only behind Sheffield United in the 2020/21 disciplinary charts, Scott Parker's boys are looking to scrap their way out of the relegation zone. They make the top twenty, despite being absent from 14 of the division's 29 seasons. Photo: Pool