This is a scene that we are not used to seeing on football fields. Yesterday, during the match between Everton and Manchester United at Old Trafford, Idrissa Gana Gueye stood out in the 13th minute of play. And not in the most beautiful way. The former Paris Saint-Germain player argued with teammate Michael Keane before slapping him. The two men had to be separated by Jordan Pickford and Iliman Ndiaye. This completely unacceptable gesture was sanctioned by match referee Tony Harrington. The latter expelled Gueye, who therefore left his partners very quickly outnumbered. If the Toffees finally won with a score of 1-0, this incident is the subject of much discussion this Tuesday morning.
Gueye slapped his own teammate
THE Guardian speaks of a bizarre incident and added: “Gueye committed an unforgivable mistake. Bryan Mbeumo entered the area, lost the ball and, after Fernandes’ shot went wide, Gueye attacked Keane, who pushed him away. A quick tap on his teammate’s cheek later, and the referee, Tony Harrington, showed the red card for violent behavior. The defensive midfielder was sent off, to his great shame, to laughter from the Stretford End. The height of irony was that Pickford had to stop him from attacking the imposing Keane once again.” THE Manchester Evening News spoke of a “unusual red card” while Give Me Sport gave it a rating of 1 and added: “red card in the 13th minute for slapping his own teammate. Everything is said.”
Liverpool Echowho also gave him a rating of 1 for his entire work, wrote about him: “He provided valuable service to Everton during his two spells at the club and has returned to decent form this season. We can certainly debate the severity of the decision, but there is nothing worse than being sent off for hitting your own teammate. He was also bizarrely sent off for slapping Michael Keane in the face following a defensive error. Same note for the Daily Mail who was shocked by his attitude. “Idrissa Gueye lost his temper in front of over 70,000 people when he was sent off during the match against Manchester United for slapping his own teammate.”
The English press turns it on
The English media continues: “the Everton midfielder recklessly lost the ball in the penalty area, which Bruno Fernandes almost took advantage of when his shot grazed the post. As United players began to return to defend the goal clearance, Gueye lashed out at teammate Michael Keane after the defender reprimanded him for his reckless play. The two men came face to face, with Keane appearing to turn his head towards Gueye, before the latter raised his hand and slapped Keane across the face, forcing the referee to draw a red. Gueye is the first player to be sent off in the Premier League for an altercation with a teammate since 2008, when Stoke’s Ricardo Fuller was sent off for slapping Andy Griffin. David Moyes could not fault Gueye’s sending off, his first of the season, as he had to be physically restrained by Jordan Pickford and Iliman Ndiaye as he attempted to attack Keane a second time, before finally returning to the locker room.
THE Daily Mirror don’t spare him either. “Midfielder Gueye has been one of Everton’s most consistent players in recent seasons, but a moment of straying earned him a sending-off at Old Trafford. After a clash with teammate Michael Keane, Gueye appeared to raise his hand to the defender’s face. The two players argued violently, with Gueye punching violently and receiving a red card. Getting sent off after a dangerous tackle or getting angry at the opponent is one thing. Getting fired prematurely for an altercation with your own teammate is another story. He now faces an automatic three-match suspension for violent behavior. No doubt manager David Moyes will be furious – and rightly so..
Moyes’ surprising reaction
The Everton coach was asked to react to this violent and unusual gesture. And his reaction was surprising “If nothing had happened, I don’t think anyone in the stadium would have been surprised. I thought the referee could have taken a little more time to think about it. I was told that according to the rules of the game, if you slap your own player you can get in trouble. But there’s another aspect: I like my players to fight among themselves when someone hasn’t done the right thing. If you want that toughness and resilience to get a result, you want someone to respond. I’m disappointed that we got a red card. But we’ve all been footballers, we get angry at our teammates. He apologized for the red card, he congratulated the players and thanked them for it, and apologized for what happened.”
The scorer of the evening, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, also commented on this aspect of the game: “we started off really well, then something happened. It was a moment of madness, avoidable. Our reaction was incredible, exceptional. We could have collapsed, but on the contrary, it allowed us to grow. At half-time, he (Moyes, editor’s note) simply said: it’s settled. We’ll deal with that later. The important thing was to stick to the game plan. He made sure that we made the right choices, that we continued our momentum. We can’t change anything anymore, and in the second half, we continued like that. Gueye also found some support in the media, like Gary Neville on Sky Sports.
Gueye makes his mea culpa
“There’s not much to say, it’s just a small mistake. It’s unpleasant to see two teammates picking on each other, but it wasn’t a fight. There was no reason to give a red card.” Even Jamie Carragher, who doesn’t keep his tongue in his pocket, spared him. “I just wonder if sometimes the referee couldn’t handle the situation a little better. The decision itself, as you said, is a bit like the one we talk about for tackling, excessive force. We’re talking about a slap here. Could you just bring the two of them together and say, “hey hold on.” Manage the situation rather than saying: “this is the rule, I’m just applying it to the letter”. When you look closely at the rules, you realize that they actually offer some leeway to the referee.”
After his gesture, Gana Gueye came out of silence on social networks to apologize. “Firstly, I want to apologize to my teammate, Michael Keane. I take full responsibility for my reaction. I also apologize to the rest of my teammates, the staff, the supporters and the club. What happened does not reflect who I am and the values ​​I defend. Emotions can take over but nothing justifies such behavior. I’m going to make sure this never happens again.” The 36-year-old Senegalese, who has expressed his mea-culpa, risks several matches of suspension for his action.
