Fans claim 'the game is gone' after finding out why Iliman Ndiaye got a yellow card against Brighton

Fans have complained on social media after discovering the reason why Iliman Ndiaye was booked during Everton's 1-0 win over Brighton.

Everton entered their encounter with Brighton off the back of a 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

It was their first win since the return of David Moyes as manager, and their first victory since December.

Fresh from having moved four points clear of the drop zone, Everton were looking to extend that gap when they faced Brighton on Saturday.

The Toffees took the lead through Iliman Ndiaye’s first half penalty, which was drilled into the bottom corner beyond the dive of Bart Verbruggen.

Ndiaye subsequently wheeled away in celebration, mockingly flapping his arms like a Seagull in front of the home fans. Indeed, Brighton are known as the Seagulls.

NDIAYE STARTED DOING THE SEAGULL CELEBRATION AFTER SCORING AGAINST BRIGHTON😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/jUFQu6rIlY

— The 44 ⚽️ (@The_Forty_Four) January 25, 2025

The Senegal international subsequently took a yellow card for the celebration, to the frustration of several fans on X.

One person said: “Premier League proper draining the game of passion. Don’t want any character or emotion, just vanilla celebrations.”

A second added: “Iliman Ndiaye really got booked for doing a seagull celebration in front of the Brighton fans…

“The game is so far gone.”

A third added: “No fun in this league!” Similarly, a fourth said: “Lol. I miss the Barclays era.”

Everton went on to claim a second win in succession, with Ndiaye scoring the only goal of the game.

Earlier this week, Ndiaye admitted Everton were already “clicking” in Moyes’ second game back.

“The strikers need to go more forward when we regain the ball,” he said. “We’re closer to the goal and closer to each other, which is what we want.

“I don’t know if it’s freedom as such, but the whole team is just clicking. I feel like that’s what’s most important. We haven’t been getting too many wins recently and this feels good.”