The Premier League Match Centre have confirmed that Idrissa Gana Gueye was sent off for a 'clear strike to the face' after a baffling incident with his team-mate Michael Keane away at Manchester United. The two Everton players engaged in a furious disagreement in their own penalty box after a mishap led to a Bruno Fernandes shot that went wide just 13 minutes into the match. And Gueye appeared to slap Keane in the face as the pair exchanged heated words.
Referee Tony Harrington controversially issued a straight red to Gueye. And the Premier League's X account that provides information directly from Match Centre and the VAR Hub then said: "#MUNEVE – 13’ The referee’s call of red card to Gueye for violent conduct was checked and confirmed by VAR – with the action deemed to be a clear strike to the face of Keane."
The Premier League's rules dictate that a red card should be shown for "striking an opponent or any other person, on the head or face with their hand or arm, unless the force used was negligible."
Gary Neville, commentating on the match for Sky Sports, said: "How much venom was in that slap? He has been sent off for that. Was it a little slap or a proper whack? There is no doubt a hand comes out to the face but it didn't look too much. They might have had to send him off purely because there is a strike to the face.
"There's not much in that. Maybe it looks a bit more aggressive from that side but it's a tap. It wasn't a scrap. It could have been dealt with by a yellow, is my gut feeling. I don't think it needed to be a red card."