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Former football referee Howard Webb told a story recently that he had been approached by players in the English Premier League asking to be booked so they could be suspended for Christmas. Unlike their European counterparts English footballers don’t get a mid-season break around Christmas. In fact, things go the other way and players are expected to play three games in a week meaning that often many will train on Christmas Day. One way to get a break is to rack up five yellow cards and be suspended. But do players really try anything so unsportsmanlike? Tim Harford asks journalist Rob Minto to delve into the data.