Everton footballer Ashley Young says he is “gutted” after his son Tyler Young remained on the bench for Peterborough during his side’s FA Cup win last night.
The veteran former England defender, 39, hoped to face fellow left-back Tyler, 18, in what would have been the 154-year-old competition’s first father-son match-up.
While the father came on as a substitute in the 73rd minute, Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson opted against bringing Tyler on as the League One side crashed out of the competition to the Premier League side.
Ashley Young took to social media platform X on Friday morning and simply wrote: “GUTTED…..”
Ferguson defended his decision in his post-match press conference, suggesting the fact Peterborough were only trailing by one goal until the 98th minute meant he was reluctant to bring on a defender.
“It was very difficult to leave Tyler on the bench but I’ve got to do what I think is best for the team,” said Ferguson.
“As much as I wanted Tyler to get on, if the game had been 2-0 at that point I would’ve put him on but at 1-0, I had to get a forward on. I’ve got to try and get something out of the game and do what is best for my team.
“One of their [Everton] players had a pop at me, which was bang out of order. We are not a charity case.”
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Ashley Young was seen consoling his son on the pitch after the final whistle went.
Much of the buzz in the lead-up to the match surrounded the Youngs, with the father and son even appearing on BBC’s The One Show ahead of the clash to talk about the prospect of facing one another.
“The perfect and only outcome is for Tyler to play well, of course – it’s a big stage – but for me to play well and go to the next round,” Ashley said.
