Australian midfielder Tim Cahill was sent off after the final whistle as Everton defeated Newcastle 3-1 on the final day of the English Premier League season.
Cahill was shown red following a violent tussle with Newcastle’s French international midfielder, Yohan Cabaye.
Footage showed Cahill grabbing the throat of his opponent before players from both teams came together in a heated exchange.
United’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League were shattered as Everton signed off with a final-day win.
Newcastle could not have claimed a top-four finish even if they had won at Goodison Park, as both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur got the victories they needed to stay in Champions League spots.
But Alan Pardew’s side were comprehensively outplayed anyway as goals from Steven Pienaar, Nikica Jelavic and Jonny Heitinga sealed the points for Everton.
A Tony Hibbert own goal in the closing stages was no consolation for Newcastle, who finished fifth and have the dubious reward of playing in the Europa League next season after an impressive campaign petered out with two successive defeats.
Meanwhile, Everton’s win means David Moyes’ side earn the bragging rights on Merseyside as they finished in seventh position, one place ahead of arch rivals Liverpool.
Newcastle almost made the perfect start when Fabricio Coloccini’s header deflected goalwards off Heitinga, only for Tim Howard to make a routine save.
However, that was to be as good as it got for the Magpies, as Everton quickly found their attacking stride, with Belgian Marouane Fellaini especially prominent.
The attacking midfielder came close with an 11th-minute header that floated narrowly wide of the left-hand post, and was heavily involved in the move that broke the deadlock five minutes later.
Fellaini laid the ball off to Pienaar, who was loitering on the edge of the penalty area, and the Tottenham loanee found the top-left corner of the net via a hefty deflection off Mike Williamson.
Everton could have doubled their lead shortly after, but after Leon Osman squared Leighton Baines’ cross back across the face of the six-yard box, Pienaar drilled a close-range strike into the side netting.
However, the hosts did not have to wait long to enjoy a two-goal advantage.
Heitinga’s 27th-minute long ball released Jelavic beyond a hesitant Coloccini, and while Tim Krul saved the Croatian’s first shot, he was powerless to prevent the in-form striker hooking in the rebound.
Jelavic was presented with the Premier League Player of the Month award for April prior to kick-off, and has now scored 11 goals since joining Everton from Rangers in January.
