Former Celtic man David Moyes would have seen a lot during his managerial career, after starting off in 1998.
But the Everton boss probably never witnessed one of his own players getting sent off for striking his own teammate.
That’s exactly what happened on Monday night, as Everton beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford, with Idrissa Gueye shown a straight red card after 13 minutes for slapping his teammate Michael Keane, following a heated exchange.
Amazingly enough, the Toffees would open the scoring not long after through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, then go on to claim all three points, as Celtic hero Chris Sutton recalled a moment from his days in Glasgow.
Manchester United v Everton - Premier League
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Chris Sutton recalls Celtic incident after Idrissa Gueye is sent off for striking Everton teammate
It wouldn’t be a surprise to hear that Sutton is a wind-up merchant; he does as a pundit, and he was like that on the pitch during his playing days.
Not just with the opponents, but also with his fellow teammates, as he recalled squaring up to Olivier Tebily during their days at Celtic, as he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Sutton explained that, only after ‘people got in the middle’, did he go towards Tebily, as the former striker joked, ‘he would have killed me.’
Sutton joked: “He might have hurt Michael Keane; he may have been hurt.”
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Joe Hart: “Michael Keane actually pushed harder, but he just pushed on the shoulder. He pushed him first.”
Mark Chapman: “Why do you keep laughing at it, Chris?”
Sutton: “Rory (Smith) was sort of saying, ‘Well, that’s okay to hit your teammate.’ You can’t just go around hitting people.”
Smith: “Chris, were you ever slapped by a teammate?”
Sutton: “Many people tried to attack me, yes – I don’t think I was ever hit, actually. But there were a fair few who tried.
“I used to be a bit housery. When I was at Celtic, there was a guy called Olivier Tebily. I think he would have ripped my head off.
“But I sort of squared up to him after people got in the middle. Come on, then. He would have killed me.”
What David Moyes said about Gueye’s slap on Michael Keane vs Manchester United
It’s unusual, but entertaining if you are watching it from afar.
Moyes is a pretty stern character, but post-match, he could probably answer the question about the sending off a lot easier, given that his side picked up all three points at Old Trafford.
After the game, the Scotsman was asked about the Gueye-Keane incident, and he admitted that he ‘liked it.’
“I couldn’t understand it,” Moyes told BBC Sport. “I don’t think anyone could’ve expected it. Anthony Taylor told me that, by the letter of the law, if you raise your arm, you can be sent off. I don’t think anyone else in the stadium would have thought anything of it.
“I quite like it when my players fight with each other because it shows they care, and [put the] demands on each other. I’m disappointed he got sent off. He has apologised, praised the team and is grateful for the result. We move on.”
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