Ashley Young blames BT Sport for his three-match ban, according to reports.
Young received a three-match suspension for an incident with Dusan Tadic during Manchester United’s 0-0 draw with Southampton on Saturday.
The United left back was seen elbowing Tadic in the stomach but, according to Manchester Evening News, neither the victim of the elbow nor Southampton complained about the altercation.
Young is said to feel aggrieved by the spotlight which was shed on the coming together by BT Sport, believing that it led to the FA’s decision to suspend him.
BREAKING: @ManUtd’s Ashley Young charged with violent conduct by FA for incident in game against Southampton. #SSN pic.twitter.com/BupVlaoZE3
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 31, 2017
Studio pundits Paul Scholes and Martin Keown discussed the elbow at length and Young reportedly feels that had the incident not been replayed several times in slow motion, he would not have received such a harsh punishment.
Young’s claim that the ban was excessive was rejected by a regulatory commission and he has already served one game of his suspension, missing United’s 2-0 victory over Everton on New Year’s Day.
The 32-year-old will be available for selection again when the Red Devils travel to Burnley on January 20.
Tadic has since revealed what Young said to him when he confronted him about the elbow.
“Yes, he elbowed me and I asked him ‘Why did you do this?'” Tadic said. “I didn’t really understand. I can fall down, but it was really strange because I didn’t expect that from him.
“Normally you cannot see that. I’m disappointed about that because you don’t expect that from him, because he’s an experienced player and he cannot do that I think. I was surprised, and then next corner I asked him ‘Why did you do that?’ and he said, ‘I didn’t do anything.’
“I said, ‘You didn’t do anything? You elbowed me in the stomach without reason’.
“Okay, if you want to push it’s different, but an elbow is different.”
