Noa Lang holds a dubious record. This season he has already picked up 12 yellow cards in official games for Club Brugge, making him the striker who has received the most tickets in the top ten competitions in Europe. On Sunday, Lang received a yellow card during and after the lost city derby Cercle Brugge (2-0) in the Belgian Pro League.
The Belgian newspaper The standard calculated that midfielder Dmitriy Barinov of Lokomotiv Moscow took yellow the most often in the ten leagues that have the highest UEFA coefficient: fourteen times. This is followed by midfielder Matús Bero (thirteen) of Vitesse. Third place is shared by Lang, defender Riechedly Bazoer from Vitesse and midfielder Leonardo Lopes from Club Brugge. Remarkably, Vitesse and Club Brugge are represented in the top five with two men.
The list is based on competition matches, national cups and European cup tournaments. Lang was penalized eight times in the Belgian league, three times in the Champions League and once in the battle for the Belgian Supercup. Due to his red print against Cercle, the Dutchman is missing in the next competition match against STVV on Saturday 15 January. Earlier this season, he missed the home game against Standard Liège due to a suspension.
In the 26th minute of play, the unfortunate Lang took his first card against Cercle. After the match, he pulled a Cercle club logo from the wall in the catacombs. This was probably the reason for the race management to give Lang his second yellow card. Shortly after the defeat to Cercle, Lang posted a photo of himself on a plane departing from Amsterdam to Dubai. In a second Instagram Story, he seemed to respond to the criticism he received from Belgium for his action. “Love you too. Enjoy your days,” Lang wrote, closing the message with a heart.
Most yellow cards in Europe:
Dmitriy Barinov (midfielder, Lokomotiv Moscow): 14
Matús Bero (midfielder, Vitesse): 13
Riechedly Bazoer (defender, Vitesse): 12
Noa Lang (striker, Club Brugge): 12
Leonardo Da Silva Lopes (midfielder, Cercle Brugge): 12