A bizarre scene unfolded at Old Trafford when Everton midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye was given a red card for striking his own teammate in the 13th minute of his club’s win over Manchester United.
The peculiar incident occurred shortly after a miscommunication led to a near Manchester United goal by Bruno Fernandes, who sent his shot just over the net, saving Everton from a costly mistake.
Gueye was immediately enraged after the ball went out of play and he confronted teammate Michael Keane over what had happened.
An animated conversation broke out and eventually Keane pushed Gueye, who in turn took a swipe at Keane’s face and could clearly be seen making contact.
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was walking toward the scene when he rushed in to keep the situation from escalating further, eventually grabbing hold of Gueye to help guide him off the pitch.
Gueye continued yelling toward Keane as Pickford led him to the sideline.
Gueye was shown the red card for violating the violent conduct section of the IFAB laws of the game.
“It is, by the letter of the law, a red card.”
The studio crew breaks down Idrissa Gana Gueye’s shocking sending off for a clash with Michael Keane. pic.twitter.com/o2L60vL9Po
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“A player who, when not challenging for the ball, deliberately strikes an opponent or any other person on the head or face with the hand or arm, is guilty of violent conduct unless the force used was negligible,” the rule states.
Keane issued an apology following the incident.
“I want to apologise first to my teammate Michael Keane,” Gueye said in a statement. “I take full responsibility for my action. I also apologise to my teammates, the staff, the fans and the club. What happened does not reflect who I am or the values I stand for. Emotions can run high, but nothing justifies such behavior. I’ll make sure it never happens again.”
The ejection meant that Everton had to play the rest of the match with 10 players, but still managed to upset Manchester City with a 1-0 win.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored the only goal of the match in the 29th minute.
He fired a shot just inside the penalty area that was out of the reach of the Manchester United goalkeeper.
The Everton win was just its second at Old Trafford in 33 Premier League matches against Manchester United.
