Everton midfielder idrissa gueye was sent off during a recent match after striking teammate Michael Keane, a rare incident resulting in a red card for intra-team aggression. The incident occurred during the game, leading to immediate dismissal by the referee and confirmation by VAR.
The sending off is notably noteworthy as it marks only the third time since 2000-01 a Premier League player has been dismissed for clashing with a fellow teammate, following incidents involving Lee Bowyer and Kieron dyer (Newcastle vs. Aston Villa, 2005) and Ricardo Fuller and Andy Griffin (stoke vs. West Ham, 2008), according to Opta data. The Premier League match center confirmed via X (formerly Twitter) that VAR upheld the red card, deeming it a “clear strike to the face of Keane,” and citing the law for violent conduct which defines a sending-off offence as striking an opponent or any other person on the head or face with hand or arm, unless the force used was negligible.
Gueye, in his second spell with Everton, later apologized via social media, stating, “I want to apologise frist to my team-mate michael Keane.I take full duty for my reaction. I also apologise to my team-mates, the staff, the fans and the club. What happened does not reflect who I am or the values I stand for. Emotions can run high,but nothing justifies such behavior. I’ll make sure it never happens again.”
Everton manager David Moyes reported that Gueye’s teammates applauded after he apologized to the group, adding, “He was big enough to stand up and say he made a mistake. I’ve accepted it, we all move on.”
Despite the clear application of the rules, opposing manager Ruben Amorim disagreed with the decision. “We can fight with team-mates,” said the Portuguese boss. “I know it’s violent conduct because the referee explained but I don’t agree.”
