Beattie made 'bad mistake', says Pistone

Everton defender Alessandro Pistone has told team-mate James Beattie he made “a bad mistake” in being sent off for a double headbutt on William Gallas in the Premiership clash against Chelsea on Saturday.

The league leaders went on to win 1-0 after having a one-man advantage for 82 minutes at Goodison Park.

Everton manager David Moyes initially defended Beattie for his butt only to change his mind after viewing video evidence.

Pistone told the club’s website, www.evertonfc.com: “He is a good lad, a good player and so he has to give 100%.

“If it was a red card it was a bad mistake because it really was an important game for us and we needed to keep our focus.

“It was incredibly frustrating because we were expecting the game to be hard. You know Chelsea will be hard even at home.

“It was going to be hard with 11 so you can imagine what it was like after only eight minutes to be left with 10 men.”