Journalist under fire after he asks Brighton’s Evan Ferguson about England

Brighton and Hove Albion are picking up where they left off last season under Roberto De Zerbi, performing as one of the best teams in England. The Seagulls have become one of the leaders in player recruitment in world football, with a significant focus on identifying the next generation of talent. One of those players is striker Evan Ferguson, who has just signed a new contract at the club, keeping him on the south coast until 2029.

Ferguson moved from his home country of Ireland to Brighton in 2021. After making his name known in the Premier League circles last season, the Republic of Ireland international has five goals this season. Still, at just 19 years old, the best is yet to come for Evan Ferguson.

After signing his contract, in an interview with TalkSport’s Alex Crook, Ferguson was asked about his eligibility for England and why he chose to play for Ireland over the Three Lions. A visibly confused Evan Ferguson gave a basic answer that is easy to understand.

Evan Ferguson’s mother is English, so he was eligible for England but is now permanently cap-tied to the Republic of Ireland. The question has obviously and reasonably sparked an outrage.

Let’s not forget that there are situations where a player moves around during his or her childhood and maybe questions their patriotism or allegiance to a specific national team. Still, Evan Ferguson was born and raised in Ireland, with one side of his family being Irish.

Ferguson has only ever played for the Republic of Reland at the youth level before senior caps, furthering the dumbfoundedness of asking why an Irishman is committed to playing for Ireland.

Despite this recent controversy, the news that should be celebrated is that Brighton and Hove Albion have been able to lock down one of their star forwards for the long term as they hope to build upon their already fantastic story under De Zerbi.