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David Moyes led Everton to a rare 1-0 win at Old Trafford despite Idrissa Gueye’s red card for slapping Michael Keane, marking only the third such Premier League incident.
Idrissa Gueye’s was shown a red card for a confrontation with teammate Michael Keane (AP)
Everton manager David Moyes played down the incident involving midfielder Idrissa Gueye’s sending off for a confrontation with teammate Michael Keane just 13 minutes into their 1-0 Premier League win against Manchester United on Monday.
After 17 failed attempts to secure a league win at Old Trafford as a visiting manager, Moyes finally celebrated a victory under unusual circumstances, as Everton’s Gueye was red-carded for slapping Keane following a heated exchange.
This was only the third instance in Premier League history where a player was dismissed for a clash with a teammate, and the first since 2008 when Stoke City’s Ricardo Fuller slapped Andy Griffin during a match at West Ham United.
Moyes mentioned that Senegal international Gueye had apologised and noted some positives from the incident.
“These things happen in football, I thought the referee could maybe have taken a little bit longer to think about it,” Moyes commented after Everton’s first league win at Old Trafford in 12 years and their second in the last 33 visits.
“I’m getting told the rules are that if you slap your own player or raise an arm in some way you can be in trouble. But, you know, there’s another side of it.
“I quite like my own players fighting each other and getting annoyed with each other because of a bad ball or someone didn’t do the right action. If you want a winning team, with the resilience and toughness that got us the result, then I think you’ve got to have players that are going to react in that way.”
Referee Tony Harrington issued a red card after Gueye slapped Keane, who had shoved him. Gueye was then restrained by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Says Sorry
Gueye later issued an apology on social media.
“I want to apologise first to my teammate Michael Keane. I take full responsibility for my reaction,” he wrote on Instagram.
“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 behaviour.
“I’ll make sure it never happens again.”
Despite the incident and an early injury to Seamus Coleman, Everton became the first team to win a Premier League game at Old Trafford after having a player sent off, thanks to a superb goal by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
“I’m incredibly proud of the players and the supporters here today because I know it has been a regular occurrence where we’ve not got a result here,” Moyes said.
“It was never going to be an easy game for us with 11 players, but to do it with 10 players was an incredible job by the players.”
(With inputs fromm Agencies)
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes cricket content, havin…Read More
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes cricket content, havin… Read More
November 25, 2025, 07:54 IST
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