Manchester United winger Shea Lacey has issued an apology after he received a red card during last Sunday’s FA Cup third round defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion.
The highly-rated youngster was dismissed after picking up two quick bookings, leaving the Red Devils a man short as they went on to lose 2-1 and suffered an early exit from the tournament.
Shea Lacey picks up first career red card
Brighton were already 1-0 up at Old Trafford courtesy of a first half strike by Brajan Gruda, when Manchester United interim manager Darren Fletcher turned to Lacey in search of an equalizer.
It was only the 18-year-old’s third senior appearance for the Red Devils, since making his debut in December 2025 in a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa in the English Premier League.
Danny Welbeck scored a second for the visitors two minutes after Lacey had come on, while Benjamin Sesko pulled one back for the home team in the 85th minute.
However, the youngster’s night turned sour as he picked up two cautions in the space of two minutes.
He was first cautioned for a late challenge on Yasin Ayari in the 87th minute. The forward then committed another foul on Ferdi Kardioglu and after the referee blew the whistle for a foul, he slammed the ball on the ground and was issued another caution which resulted in his dismissal.
The Red Devils lost the match 2-1 and crashed out of the competition, leaving them with only the English Premier League to compete for this season.
Lacey issues apology for red card
In a social media post released after the match, the 18-year-old apologized to teammates and the club supporters for his behaviour.
“I want to apologise to all of my teammates, staff and the fans. I let everybody down tonight, I shouldn’t let my emotions get the better of me, I will do everything I can to make this right”, Lacey said.
The youngster is expected to serve a one-match suspension, ruling him out of the weekend’s Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
