David Moyes said he likes his players “fighting each other” after Idrissa Gueye was sent off in the 13th minute for slapping his teammate Michael Keane in Everton’s 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday.
The victory was a first at Old Trafford in the Premier League for the visitors since 2013. After Gueye’s red card, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s 29th-minute strike proved the winner as United lost for a first time in the competition at home after an opponent was reduced to 10 men.
Gueye’s marching orders came after he approached Keane, was pushed away, and then slapped the defender on the cheek, causing the referee, Tony Harrington, to send him off for violent conduct. Gueye later apologised to his teammates.
Moyes said: “I like my players fighting each other, if someone didn’t do the right action. If you want that toughness and resilience to get a result, you want someone to act on it.
“If nothing happened [no red card], I don’t think anyone in the stadium would have been surprised. I thought the referee could have taken a bit longer to think about it. I was told that [by] the rules of the game that if you slap your own player, you could be in trouble.
“I’m disappointed we got the sending off. But we’ve all been footballers, we get angry with our teammates. He’s apologised for the sending off, he’s praised the players and thanked them for it and apologised.”
The Guardian