This led to an angry exchange with Jordan Pickford and sparked a heated argument between the defenders.
But what followed was beyond normal limits.
Keane and Guyet faced each other, pushing and shoving, before the midfielder landed a small blow on his towering colleague.
Pickford quickly intervened to pull an enraged Gay away from Keane, but the damage had already been done and referee Tony Harrington immediately handed him a red card.
“He snapped,” Gary Neville said on commentary for Sky Sports.
This is only the third time in Premier League history that a player has been sent off for an altercation with a teammate, and the first in 17 years.
Gueye will now join Ricardo Fuller (Stoke 2008), Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer (Newcastle 2005) in that infamous chapter of the league’s record books. Incredibly, Everton managed to avoid the same fate as Stoke and Newcastle, who predictably lost the game in similar circumstances.
David Moyes’ side looked rejuvenated by Monday night’s red card and dug deep to contain a lackluster United side.
Everton goalkeeper Pickford made some important saves, including a fine late rejection of Joshua Zirkzee, while Keenan Dewsbury-Hall scored a superb solo goal in the 29th minute to secure a hard-won 1-0 win for the Toffees.
However, the downside for the Toffees is that Gueye will be sidelined for an extended period of time. The midfielder received an automatic three-match ban from the Premier League for violent behavior and was ruled out from games against Newcastle, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest.
Furthermore, Gueye is part of the Senegal squad that will take part in the Africa Cup of Nations next month and could miss up to 10 games against Everton. Senegal’s first match will be on December 23rd, and the tournament will run until January 18th.
Clubs are required to release players on international duty two weeks before the competition, and Gueye may miss the match between Everton and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on December 13, when his suspension ends.
“Moment of madness”
His strike meant Dewsbury Hall could look back on the match’s major flashpoint in a much different light than when they suffered defeat.
“It was just a crazy moment,” he told Sky Sports.
“It was clearly avoidable. All I can say is that Idrissa apologized to us all at half-time and spoke his mind. That’s all he can do and we move on from there.”
“The reaction from the players after the game was unbelievable and top-level. We could have easily collapsed and let ourselves be attacked and lost the game comfortably, but that probably helped us grow even more as a team.”
“The manager said we would deal with the situation another time, but all we had to do was stick to the plan we had. He just wanted us to continue doing what we were doing and focus on what we could change.”
“I like it when players fight.”
Everton manager Moyes believed Gueye was unlucky to have been given his marching orders after securing a win against his former team United, and thought it was an exaggeration.
He said, “I like when players fight each other if someone doesn’t do the right thing. If you want to get results with that toughness and resilience, you want someone to act on it.”
“I don’t think anyone in the stadium would have been surprised if nothing had happened (no red card). I think the referee had a little more time to think about it. He was told by the rules of the game (that) if you slap your own player, you could be in trouble.”
“It’s unfortunate that he got sent off. But we were all football players and I’m angry at my teammates. He apologized for the sending off, praised the players, thanked them and apologized.”
“Going out of business is not a bad thing”
United were without injured pair Benjamin Sesco and Matheus Cunha, and that was evident at Old Trafford as they struggled for 81 minutes against Everton’s 10 men.
United dominated with 69 per cent of possession and fired 25 attempts on Pickford’s goal without hitting the net.
In response, United manager Ruben Amorim took a surprising stance regarding Gueye’s dismissal.
“Fighting is not a bad thing. Fighting doesn’t mean we hate each other.
“When you fight, you lose the ball and you fight because you’re going to concede a goal. When the players lose the ball, we want them to fight with each other.”
In the end, his side won, and Guye’s moment of madness will no longer be remembered as harshly as his predecessor’s.
However, his suspension means Everton will have to cope without his contribution for an extended period of time.
