FANS are up in arms after Beto played for Everton Under-21s in their opening Bristol Street Motors Trophy game.
The competition, which originally involved only League One and League Two teams, invited U21s to participate eight years ago.
Fans were in uproar after Beto started for Everton Under-21s[/caption] The striker scored twice late on to win the game for the Toffees[/caption]The idea behind the move was to improve the development of young players by allowing them to play against real professionals.
But some fans have always been sceptical about the competition and now supporters are fuming after Beto was named in the Everton U21s starting line-up.
The 26-year-old striker was signed by the Toffees for £25million just a year ago.
However he has struggled for game time under Sean Dyche, so was picked for the BSM Trophy to help improve his fitness.
Beto made the difference too as he scored twice in the closing stages to overturn a 1-0 deficit, with the Toffees winning 3-1.
One annoyed fan reacted saying: “Portuguese 26-year-old Beto. Tournament is an absolute farce.”
Another added: “B teams were brought into the trophy so that talented youngsters like Beto could thrive. Fantastic to see.”
A third wrote: “25million quid and it’s took him til 86 mins to score against pensioner Joe Murphy ”
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Beto is not the only senior player to feature in the tournament with Tom Huddlestone playing regularly for Manchester United U23s in the last few years.
Napoli loanee Jesper Lindstrøm also started the game with the winger yet to make his Everton debut.