Former Aberdeen and Arsenal defender Young dies aged 73

Willie Young, a former defender for Aberdeen and Arsenal, passed away at the age of 73.

Before joining the Gunners in 1979, Young played for the Dons for more than 180 games before winning the FA Cup with them.

In the 1980 final of the competition, he tackled West Ham forward Paul Allen and changed the rules of the game, leading to the development of the “professional foul.”

His enormous contribution to a successful era, as well as his reputation, led to his “reliable, dominant in the air, and fearless” reputation, which he cited as saying “will always be remembered fondly by those who witnessed his enormous frame repelling attacks and wreaking havoc on opposition defenses at set pieces.”

Young, who was born in Edinburgh, was raised in the Midlothian village of Heriot and began his career in Aberdeen in 1970.

Before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 1975, he spent five years there.

Two years later, he connected with Terry Neill, his former manager at Spurs, and made a contentious move from North London to Arsenal.

He and Irish centre back David O’Leary made a formidable defensive partnership, winning three FA Cup finals in a row between 1978 and 1980, with his tall 6’3″ frame and signature ginger hair.

However, his scathing down of a 17-year-old Allen in the game’s 1-0 defeat to West Ham the following year etched his name in history.

In the final moments, Young cynically hacked the forward, preventing a near-certain goal, with the forward bearing down on goal.

He was given a yellow card for the incident, which sparked a national debate about the necessity of a specific law governing professional fouls.

Two years later, automatic red cards were issued for “denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity.”

Young was successful at the club level, but he was never selected for a senior role in Scotland as a result of a lifetime ban issued following an altercation in a Danish nightclub.

Young, Joe Harper, Arthur Graham, Billy Bremner, and Pat McCluskey, all of whom had been fired from the national organization, were all excommunicated as a result of the incident.

After being found guilty of no wrongdoing, Young was never permitted to pull on the dark blue jersey, though Harper and Graham were later reinstated.

In 1981, he joined Nottingham Forest under Brian Clough after making 237 appearances.