Hair-pulling trend in Premier League continues as Dan Ballard sent off for Sunderland

By: Steve Douglas, The Associated Press Posted: 10:29 AM CDT Saturday, May. 2, 2026

Red cards for hair-pulling have never been so frequent in the Premier League.

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Red cards for hair-pulling have never been so frequent in the Premier League.

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Red cards for hair-pulling have never been so frequent in the Premier League.

The latest came Saturday when Sunderland defender Dan Ballard was sent off for yanking the hair of Wolverhampton striker Tolu Arokodare as they competed for the ball in the first half of the teams’ meeting at Molineux.

In January, Arokodare was the recipient of a hair tug by Everton defender Michael Keane, who also was shown a straight red card in a match that finished 1-1 in January.

Sunderland's Daniel Ballard pulls the hair of Wolverhampton Wanderers' Tolu Arokodare resulting in a red card during their English Premier League soccer match in Wolverhampton, England, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

Last month, Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez was sent off for pulling the hair of Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin in their match at Old Trafford.

That decision, given after a VAR check, was described as “shocking” by United manager Michael Carrick but wasn’t overturned.

Pulling an opponent’s hair is deemed violent conduct and earns a three-match ban.

There have been instances of red cards for hair-pulling outside the Premier League, too, over the past year.

In the second-tier Championship, Ipswich left back Leif Davis was given a retrospective ban in March after being found have pulled the hair of Leicester player Caleb Okoli.

At the Club World Cup last summer, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder João Neves was sent off for pulling down Marc Cucurella by his hair toward the end of Chelsea’s 3-0 victory in the final.

At last year’s Women’s European Championship, the VAR spotted Germany midfielder Kathrin Hendrich yanking the ponytail of France captain Griedge Mbock at a free kick and a red card was issued.

Last month, Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor whipped out her cell phone in a post-match interview and replayed footage of a hair-pulling incident missed by match officials in the Women’s Champions League game against Arsenal. And in the semifinals, Bayern Munich’s Franziska Kett was sent off for pulling the hair of an opponent in a 1-1 draw with Barcelona in the first leg last Saturday.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer