Published: 22:01, 7 January 2026 | Updated: 22:01, 7 January 2026

You keep telling yourself this is football we are watching but then along comes another incident that reminds us how bizarre the game has become.

This account should have been split between the performance of a bright, young midfielder who received a standing ovation from Evertonians and the questions the decision makers at Molineux should be asking themselves after another encouraging Wolves’ performance.

Instead, the focus is a red card for Michael Keane, scorer of Everton’s goal. Chris Kavanagh, on VAR, adjudged the defender to be guilty of violent conduct for what appeared to be an accidental grab at the dreadlocks of Tolu Arokodare, as the pair contested an 82nd minute header.

No appeals were made from any Wolves players for Tom Kirk, the inexperienced referee, to show a red card but, instead, Stockley Park got involved, Kirk was encouraged to go and look at the monitor and, suddenly, there was opprobrium.

There is history for a player to be banished for hair-pulling in the Premier League and the incident in December 2024,...