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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Joe Hart says it wasn’t a red card
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart was also baffled by the decision to send Gueye off.
“The referee wasn’t even close enough to hear what Idrissa Gueye was saying but he was in Michael Keane’s face, who is considerably bigger than him and shoved him off with one arm,” Hart explained.
“When he came over to continue the argument, the referee just casually walked over and sent him off. Jordan Pickford did very well in the situation.
“If that’s all that happened though, it isn’t a red card. Something must’ve been brewing between them two. We’ll see how this one unfolds.”
Considering it got soo heated so quickly between the pair, it does make you wonder whether they’ve had a bit of needle in training.
Either way, Moyes will be furious and Gueye will likely be disciplined by the club on top of his three-match suspension.
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