Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye has issued a heartfelt apology to his teammates after receiving a red card for striking Michael Keane during Everton’s 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The incident occurred just 13 minutes into Monday night’s clash. Gueye, reportedly frustrated after Keane criticized a careless pass, confronted the centre-back before striking him in the face. Referee Tony Harrington promptly issued a straight red card.
Despite being a man down, Everton held firm. A stunning strike from Dewsbury-Hall secured the three points, with the team maintaining their 1-0 lead until full-time.
Gueye took full responsibility for his actions in an Instagram post:
“I want to apologise first to my team-mate Michael Keane. I take full responsibility for my reaction. I also apologise to my teammates, 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 behaviour. I’ll make sure it never happens again.”
Everton manager David Moyes praised the team for their performance while commenting on the incident.
“If nothing happened, I don’t think anyone in the stadium would have been surprised,” Moyes said.
“I thought the referee could have taken a bit longer to think about it. I got told that the rules of the game say if you slap your own player, you could be in trouble. But there’s another side to it: I like my players fighting each other if someone didn’t do the right action.
“If you want toughness and resilience to get a result, you want someone to act on it. I’m disappointed we get the sending off. But we’ve all been footballers; we get angry with our teammates. He’s apologised for the sending off, praised the players, and thanked them for it.”
Gueye’s apology and Everton’s resilience highlight the intense passion and emotion that can unfold both on and off the pitch.
