‘Madness’: Goalkeeper viciously attacks own teammate after conceding equalizer during game in Northern Ireland (VIDEO)

A goalkeeper in Northern Ireland was sent off for attacking his own teammate and had to be restrained on Saturday, when the defender was at fault in the build-up to the opposition's equalizer in a league game.

Bobby Burns' mishap at the halfway line when losing possession landed him on Aaron McCarey's hit list after allowing Coleraine to come back into the game.

Thanks to a Jay Donnelly double, the away side were trailing 2-1 with just 10 minutes to spare against Glentoran.

But after Cathair Friel leveled to eventually take a point home with the equalizer, McCarey preferred not to try and enthuse his troops.

Instead, the ex-Ireland U21 went straight for Burns and knocked him to the floor before dragging him by the shirt.

Some members of the Glentoran team intervened to split up the pair, with McCarey sent off which left his side reduced to 10 men.

Glentoran held on to assume sixth place in the NIFL Premiership on 13 points, while Coleraine are two spots and two points in front having played a game more.

Yet the scenes shocked fans worldwide, with one popular clip showing how McCarey first decks Burns, who puts his hands to his face, after running over to him and shaking his fist. 

McCarey then grabs Burns by the scruff of the neck, takes the player with him while he backtracks, and is confronted by a pair of teammates as one approaches from behind and throws a ball at the 'keeper.

"I've never seen anything like it - it's a moment of madness," said Glentoran legend Paul Leeman post-match, as manager Mick McDermott attempted to play down the fracas.

"I am more concerned about how we conceded the goal before the incident," he said.

"I've only seen a close angle on an iPad and I can't zoom in on it. When I can't get our analysis cameras there's a zoomed-out version I'll have a look at it.

"Aaron has come into the dressing room and said he shouldn't have done it, he has held his hand up and Bobby Burns the same.

"They're both gutted with what happened, so look, we'll deal with it. I spoke to Bobby and he said he didn't strike him in the face. There was no contact with the face.

"Until I see the footage I can't give you my opinion of it," McDermott continued.

"Bobby confirmed in the dressing room, I actually brought him into my office, he said there was no contact with his face but when he fell back he hit his head on the grass and that was the reaction.

"Nobody falls out, they're all grown men. It's an incident that shouldn't have happened and now we move on. There's no news. Two players got in a row, it's happened before, it's not nice but it's happened and we move on.

"We have rules and we have protocols, procedures and disciplinary actions. If it's proven it's violent conduct we'll have to consider the consequences. I think for me talking to our players... the disciplinary stuff we deal with all the time. I'm not going to blow it up into a major incident," he concluded.