Gueye apologises for Old Trafford red card incident
Idrissa Gueye has echoed the apology he gave to his team-mates in the dressing room this evening with a post to Instagram where he took responsibility for the altercation with Michael Keane that led to his 13th-minute dismissal against Manchester United.
The Senegal international received his marching orders from referee Tony Harrington for "violent conduct" when he slapped the side of Keane's face as the pair got into a shoving match following a breakdown in communication that almost gifted Bruno Fernandes the opening goal.
Gueye's red card, which will likely ensure he is suspended for Everton until he departs for the Africa Cup of Nations next month, left the Blues to play the remaining 77 minutes plus stoppage time with only 10 men.
Remarkably, however, David Moyes's men went on to score through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's lovely curling strike just before the half-hour mark and then hold out superbly to claim all three points.
"I want to apologise first to my team-mate Michael Keane. I take full responsibility for my reaction. I also apologise to my team-mates, the staff, the fans and the club," Gueye wrote on the social media platform.
"What happened does not reflect who I am or the values I stand for. Emotions run high but nothing justifies such behaviour. I'll make sure it never happens again."
Speaking afterwards, his manager appeared unfazed by the incident, and even admitted that he didn't mind seeing his players fighting if it meant that they were aiming to uphold his high standards of performance. Nevertheless, the matter is expected to be dealt with at Finch Farm this week.
Meanwhile, Dewsbury-Hall said in his own post-match interview:
"It was just a moment of madness. It was obviously avoidable. All I can say is Idrissa apologised to us all at half-time and said his piece. That's all he can do and we move on from it.
"The reaction from the lads after it was unbelievable, top tier. We could've easily crumbled, gone in on ourselves and lost the game comfortably, but it probably made us grow even more as a team.
"The manager just said he would deal with the situation another time and it was just about keeping to the plan that we had. He just wanted us to continue what we were doing and focus on the things we can change."
Reader Responses
Selected thoughts from readers25/11/2025 15:24:41
Hopefully they can both put it behind them as both have been excellent this season.
On the plus side the absence of Gueye through suspension and the African Cup of Nations should give Iregbounam, Rohl and perhaps Alcaraz some opportunities to prove themselves
26/11/2025 03:18:09
From the Guardian:
Idrissa Gueye received a round of applause from the Everton squad after apologising for his extraordinary red card in Monday’s victory at Manchester United.
The midfielder became the first Premier League player to be dismissed for striking a teammate in 17 years when slapping Michael Keane at Old Trafford. Everton performed heroically with 10 men for 85 minutes, stoppage time included, to hand David Moyes his first win at Old Trafford as a visiting manager in 18 attempts and deliver only the club’s second victory at United in 33 years.
Gueye did not get an opportunity to speak to Moyes or his teammates at half-time. Afterwards, with the away dressing room on a high following the 1-0 win, the Senegal international asked to address the entire group as well as Keane specifically. Gueye apologised to the defender for slapping him across the face. Their heated 13th-minute altercation followed the midfielder’s misplaced pass inside his own penalty area, which presented a chance to Bruno Fernandes.
He also apologised to the squad for leaving them with a monumental task at Old Trafford and thanked them for pulling it off. Gueye’s words were warmly received by the squad, who gave him a round of applause.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/nov/25/idrissa-gueye-applauded-by-everton-teammates-after-apologising-for-michael-keane-slap
27/11/2025 17:57:10
There has been a lot of coverage of this incident which probably does not reflect well on either player. Gueye did seem to loose all control and his suspension will leave us with a problem. Both players are normally model professionals so the incident on Tuesday was completely out of character, however, it was irresponsible and one or both of them should be fined.
In a very strange way the whole incident probably helped us more than United, but Gueye's suspension will leave us short of numbers and we will only know the true cost of the sending off in a few weeks time.
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25/11/2025 06:33:55
Michael Keane does not come out of this well either, despite his top-class performance afterwards: that tackle on Mbuemo!
Keane shoved Gana not once but twice, and after the card did the dumb pat the head gesture, and told Gana to 'f... off'.
Rush of the blood, dreadful pass, but Gana has taken the blame on his shoulders and apologised - the Daily Mail called his apology 'grovelling', by the way.
Moyes said that he apologised to Keane and the team at half-time. A mad moment, but Idrissa has done everything right and properly since. I respect that.
We have lost him earlier than we expected, but we were going to lose him anyway. We move on, we regroup, just like we did for 83 minutes at Old Trafford.
Three points off a Champion League's spot, ahead of them, the barcodes there for the taking at our new loud fortress.
The only way is up!