Everton got off to the worst possible start against Manchester United at Old Trafford as Idrissa Gana Gueye was shown a straight red card.
Everton midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye and Michael Keane were seen berating each other off the ball, and the former let his anger get the best of him.
Gueye squared up to Keane and could be seen taking a swipe, which the referee deemed as violent conduct.
What was Gueye thinking?
FA laws state: “The law for violent conduct defines a sending off offence as – 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 was on Sky Sports’ commentary, and he gave his verdict on the bizarre incident.
Gary Neville.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Gary Neville doesn’t think Idrissa Gana Gueye should’ve been sent off
Neville rewatched the Gueye incident multiple times, and even after familiarising himself with the laws, he still couldn’t understand why referee Tony Harrington awarded a red card.
“How much venom was in that slap? He has been sent off for that,” the pundit said, rather confused.
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“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.”
“They were not fighting, it wasn’t a scrap. It could have been dealt with by a yellow. I don’t think it needed to be a red.”
Gueye is actually the first Premier League player to be sent off for fighting his own teammate since Stoke City’s Ricardo Fuller with Andy Griffin back in December 2008.
The Toffees have also now moved level with Arsenal for the most red cards in Premier League history (110).
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