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"Such incidents have a tendency to raise hands and legs," said legendary "Man Utd" defender Gary Neville immediately, and he was undoubtedly right.
The sports media around the world and people interested in football quickly caught the "ball boy" virus - from opinions and analysis to jokes and mocking photos.
On Wednesday night in the late evening in the second leg of the English League Cup ("Capital One") semifinal match, London "Chelsea" footballers failed to overcome a two-goal deficit and advance to the final at "Wembley" stadium, where they'll face the eleventh-placed team from the fourth division of the country, "Bradford City," to compete against the "Swansea" team.
However, the unexpected success of the Welsh team was doomed to remain in the background in the 80th minute of the match, when Charlie Morgan "forgot" to do his job quickly returning the ball to the players and simply fell on it.
Emotionally out of control, "Blues" goalkeeper Eden Hazard kicked the ball out from under the ball boy, while slightly hindering him as well. This was enough for Morgan to fake a pain attack, which impressed the referee, who showed the Belgian a red card.
Video of the incident: [video link]
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was very surprised by the incident: "Ball, ball boy, player + red card... you could never imagine these words in one sentence."
"I'm not saying Hazard is right, but I don't like situations where a person who provoked the incident ends up crying for sympathy," complained Michael Owen.
"Unbelievable decision by the referee to send off Hazard, but congratulations to Swansea. Who could have predicted such a final?" - ref's actions did not leave an impression on Gareth Bale.
Meanwhile, Reading striker Noel Hunt holds the opposite opinion about the dismissal: "From the guy who was lying on the ball to waste time! Sorry, but he pushed the guy! If you play with matches - you can get burned.
Finally, Hazard himself, giving an interview to the "Chelsea" club's television, assured that the conflict was over: "The boy was holding the ball with his whole body, and I wanted to kick it and I think I hit the ball, not the boy. I regret it.".
"The ball boy came into our dressing room and we briefly talked - I apologized, he apologized as well. It's all over."
And at the bottom, an entry appeared on Charlie Morgan's Twitter account before the semifinal match. It seems that in saying goodbye to his job, the "king of all ball boys" achieved his goal - "Swansea" made it to the final, he wasted time, and even became famous.
What is your opinion on this incident, Hazard's actions, and the referee's decision? Comment!
