Cunning or foolishness? Nugging sent English Premier League ball boys on an unexpected holiday before the final whistle – Soccernet.ee

An unusual incident occurred in the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Fulham, resulting in the match ending with just one ball. The reason was the instructions given to the home team’s ball boys, which resulted in an unpleasant episode.

75 minutes had passed when Bournemouth’s attack ended with an inaccurate shot and Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno went to take the ball from the ball boy behind the backline. However, the boy didn’t throw it to him and the shocked German gave him a little slap after catching the ball. Ten minutes earlier Leno had received a yellow card and a second yellow card would have meant sending him off, but head referee Tim Robinson let the match continue.

A few minutes later, Leno went to apologize to the ball boy during a stoppage. However, Robinson decided in the 79th minute that the match will be played without a ball boy, that is, with one ball until the final whistle. The same practice is used in England’s lower leagues.

Bernd Leno gave this ball boy a boost…

The goalkeeper now apologized and hugged him. The ball boy has been moved from his position. #BOUFUL pic.twitter.com/g9T34K6tCZ
— BBCSport (@BBCSport) December 26, 2023

Fulham manager Marco Silva was very angry after the match, accusing the opponents of deliberately delaying the match. He also pointed out that Leno did not push the ball boy. “Bernd wanted to put the ball in play quickly, but the ball boys were… I don’t know who gave them the order to keep delaying the continuation of play, but that’s how it happened,” Silva told the BBC.

“We were on the ground, Bernd ran towards the ball, but I didn’t see him push the boy. He just touched him. They are two different things. English is not my native language, but I still distinguish the two words. Let’s go tell the truth please!” she snapped at reporters.

According to Silva, the fourth official, James Linington, also noticed that the ball boys were delaying on purpose. “Okay, the score was already 2-0, but the rules are the rules. The guys did their job, but they probably received a lesson. The referee made such a decision. I didn’t start complaining, because our performance has already made me angry enough. But obviously we would like a multi-ball system when we are on the ground, to continue faster,” Silva said.

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, whose men have won six of their last seven games, did not comment on Silva’s claims, saying only that he did not understand what the Fulham manager was talking about. “Surely no one gave the kids any instructions,” was his terse comment.

On this day two years ago, Eden Hazard was sent off for kicking a ball boy away in Swansea. pic.twitter.com/sr3EyFK2kF
— Transfer HQ (@Transfer__HQ) January 23, 2015

One of the most significant incidents involving a ball boy in the recent history of English Premier League football took place in the year when Eden Hazard, then playing for Chelsea, failed to catch the ball from a ball boy in a match against Swansea and kicked him. Hazard was then sent off with a red card and received a three-match ban, while ball boy Charlie Morgan (right in the photo below) was also not ill for long. However, when he came of age, he and his friends established a successful alcohol business with sales reaching tens of millions of pounds.

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