During a high-stakes Premier League encounter between Everton and Manchester United at Old Trafford, an extraordinary incident unfolded, leading to the sending off of Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye. The event occurred in the 13th minute of the match, with the score still goalless, shortly after Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes had threatened Everton's goal.

The catalyst for the drama was an argument between Gueye and his teammate, defender Michael Keane. Eyewitness accounts suggest that Keane initiated physical contact, appearing to push Gueye away twice. In response, Gueye struck Keane in the face with an open hand. The immediate aftermath saw Everton's England goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford, intervene to separate the arguing players before referee Tony Harrington promptly issued a straight red card to Gueye for violent conduct.

The decision was further corroborated by the Premier League Match Centre, which later confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that "The referee's call of red card to Gueye for violent conduct was checked and confirmed by VAR - with the action deemed to be a clear strike to the face of Keane." This ruling aligns with the law for violent conduct, which stipulates that striking an opponent or any other person on the head or face with a hand or arm constitutes a sending off offense, unless the force used is negligible.

This incident is notably rare in Premier League history. According to Opta statistics, since the 2000-01 season, this marks only the third instance of a player being sent off for clashing with a teammate. Precedent incidents include Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer's notorious altercation for Newcastle against Aston Villa in 2005, and Ricardo Fuller's clash with Andy Griffin for Stoke against West Ham in 2008.

Despite playing the majority of the game with only 10 men, Everton demonstrated remarkable resilience. They managed to secure a 1-0 victory over Manchester United, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scoring the decisive goal in the 29th minute. This win, achieved under such challenging circumstances, underscored the team's ability to overcome adversity following Gueye's expulsion.