Premier League
Everton professional slaps teammates – and sees red
November 24, 2025 – 10:28 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
There has been an extraordinary sending off in the Premier League. The reason was a slap in the face against a teammate.
Everton professional Idrissa Gueye was sent off in the Premier League game against Manchester United after an attack on his own teammate. The defensive midfielder slapped his teammate Michael Keane. But how did the scene come about?
In the 13th minute of the game, Manchester United approached the Everton goal. However, Gueye intercepted the ball in his own penalty area and wanted to pass it to Keane so that he could take it out of the box. However, Keane did not recognize his teammate’s intentions in time. The play equipment ended up on the foot of United’s Bruno Fernandes. His shot missed the Everton goal, but Gueye was still beside himself and promptly stormed towards Keane, gesticulating wildly.
The Irish central defender probably saw the mistake as Gueye’s, and a war of words ensued. Keane pushed his teammate away several times until he finally hit him in the face with his hand. Referee Tony Harrington had observed the scene and didn’t hesitate for long: he sent Gueye off the field with a straight red card.
He acted strictly according to the rules. This sees assault against one’s own teammate as just as grossly unsportsmanlike behavior as assault against a player on the other team, which is usually punished with a red card.
However, Gueye could hardly be calmed down even after his sending off. He had to be held back and escorted off the pitch by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and later also by striker Iliman Ndiaye to avoid attacking Keane again. How many games Gueye will be banned from and what additional punishment the club will face for his behavior remains to be seen.