David Moyes defended Idrissa Gueye after the Everton midfielder was sent off in the 13th minute during a 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
In what will be remembered as one of the most bizarre red cards in Premier League history, the Senegal international appeared to take a swipe at team-mate Michael Keane as the two players seemingly took issue with each other's defending during a United attack.
The referee quickly brandished a red card and replayed showed that Gueye - albeit rather lightly - made contact with Keane's face. Interestingly, Keane and Toffees goalkeeper Jordan Pickford didn't seem to protest the referee's decision and instead focused their efforts on getting Gueye off the pitch.
But Moyes has remained firm in backing Gueye by insisting he enjoys his players showing a bit of fighting spirit.
David Moyes: 'I Quite Like My Players Fighting Each Other'
David Moyes
Speaking in his post-match interview, Moyes was quick to back Gueye by suggesting fights between team-mates aren't necessarily a bad thing, while he also questioned whether the referee had made the right decision. He said:
"I'm surprised. I think if nothing happened I don't think anybody in the stadium would have been surprised. I thought the referee could have taken a bit longer to think about it. He could have just gone over and sorted it and have a think about it. I'm getting told that the rules of the game mean if you slap even your own player or lift your arm in some way then you could be in trouble.
"But there's another side to it. I quite like my players fighting each other and getting annoyed with each other because it was a bad ball or someone didn't do the right action. I think that's part of it. If you want a winning team and you want that resilience and toughness which got us the result, then I think you have ot have players that are going to act that way.
"I'm disappointed with the sending off but we've all been footballers and the ones that have will tell you that quite often you'll get angy with your team-mates.
"[Gueye's] apologised in the dressing room for the sending off. He's praised the players incredibly for their performance tonight and thanked them for it, and as I said, he's apologied for what happened."
Moyes May Feel Differently if Everton had Lost
Idrissa Gueye is sent off vs Man United
Moyes deserves a lot of credit for publicly backing Gueye. He may feel a little differently behind closed doors, and it's easy to brush the incident under the rug after claiming a shock 1-0 win with just ten men at Old Trafford - the first time he's ever won there as a visiting manager.
That incident had the potential to turn the game in United's favour, which may well have affected Moyes' perception of the incident. Nonetheless, he's not wrong in his interpretation - although Gueye was rightly sent off by the letter of the law, few would have complained had the referee not taken any action.
What's Next for Everton
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe after losing to West Ham United.
Everton have a tough run of games coming up which will be made all the more difficult without their tenacious defensive midfielder. Gueye will miss games against Newcastle (H), Bournemouth (A) and Nottingham Forest (H). Gueye could be back for the trip to Chelsea on 13th December, but he'll then head to AFCON to represent Senegal.
There isn't an obvious like-for-like replacement for Gueye in Everton's squad - the closest alternative is arguably Tim Iroegbunam - so it remains to be seen how exactly Moyes will reshuffle Everton's starting XI for a tricky run.