24 Jan 2013

'I would've done the same' - LFC hero slams ball-boy & defends Hazard. Wrong...?

During last night's Capital One Cup semi-final, Chelsea star Eden Hazard received a straight red card for apparently kicking a time-wasting ball-boy. Whether he intended to kick the ball or the man is open to debate, but either way, Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has great sympathy for the Belgian, and even claims that he would do the same thing himself.

Discussing the Hazard incident on ESPN, Nicol questioned whether the referee or the linesman actually saw the incident, and dismissed the red-card reaction as 'political correctness'. He then added:

"I've got to be honest, I feel bad for him [Hazard].

"You're 2-0 down, there's 15 minutes to go in the semi-final of a cup competition, and the ball boy is having a laugh, trying to smother the ball.

"I'm not condoning someone kicking a ball boy, but he didn't try and kick him, he tried to get the ball back. In that situation, I would've done the same thing myself. Let's have some common sense here"


From watching the interview, Nicol's argument seems to be that Hazard intended to kick the ball from under the ball-boy, but miscued and accidentally kicked his body instead.

I personally find it hard to believe that someone could be so stupid, especially in front of TV cameras, but with footballers, you never know. Other ex-LFC players slammed Hazard for the kick, but understood his frustration. Robbie Fowler tweeted:

"Right decision even though ball boy milked it"

Neil Mellor added:

"He [Ball-boy] shouldn't have held onto the ball but no way can you kick it off him no matter how frustrated hazard is"

Didi Hamann appeared to partially agree with Nicol's assessment:

"What has the game come to if you tell your ball boys to slow the game down. Hazard tried to get the ball out his hands; why did he [Ball-Boy] lie on the ball in the first place? Hazard shouldn't have done what he did but a game of football should be won and lost on the pitch"

What do you think: deliberate or not? Going for the ball or not?



Jaimie Kanwar

NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy


87 comments:

  1. If it was Torres, he would have missed the boy. 

    ReplyDelete
  2. im going to be laughing my *rse off if he gets off without heavy suspension. The ball boy is an idiot. but hazard has no place to go assaulting the kid. 100% correct call by the ref. now i just lay back and wait FA to make fool of themselves again. i doubt he gets more than 2 game ban. hope im wrong.

    that is lot worse btw than the suarez thing, IMO anyways. Anyone recall what cantona got for kicking that supporter?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeah, he totally deserved the red-card. There's no call for it, even if the kick was accidental and he was going for the ball, which it looks like to me. There's still no reason why you should do that instead of getting the official's attention.

    That said, the "kid" wasting time should have cost Swansea a PK. It's just plain cheating, and the game should be influenced by the players on the field and the coach on the sidelines, not anything else. I always hate it when a game is halted because of some idiot throwing flares at a player, or trying to put someone's eye out with a coin, or stuff like that. You want to support your team, don't hinder the game. That "kid" should be banned from the stadium, time should have been added back on to the game, a penalty kick given.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think hazard was stupid in what he did but the ball boy played it clever by first clucthing the ball even though hazard was trying to hurry things up and then after the incident he really made the most of it by the reaction as if he had been shot in the rib in the end he got his way as time was wasted and he has achieved his fifteen minutes of fame

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think there maybe was some intent (to give him a wee poke in the ribs) and Hazard deserved to go. It is hard to judge based on what you think he was trying to do. It isn't clear.

    I think a red was the right decision but there is no need for any kind of media storm. Hazard was a bit stupid, but the kid is alright (the kick wasn't fatal after all) and let's be honest, if the boy had acted professionally, Hazard wouldn't have been put in that position.

    Hazard got frustrated and lashed out in a very small way. I think it just sounds worse than it is- 'Millionaire footballer kicks child'.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am with Didi !!

    ReplyDelete
  7. according to alex ferguson hazard was stupid as the kick could have killed him

    ReplyDelete
  8. Agree with Nicol. If the ballboy isnt hauled over the coals for this theyll be doing it at all the grounds too

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think both parties are in the wrong here. Hazard shouldn't have kicked him but the ball boy what the hell was he doing? Why would he jump on the ball, yes it is his job to give it to the keeper but if a player asks for it (probably in a frustrated/intimidating way) then why didn't he give it? Letter of the law is, it is a red card but if they give Hazard more than a three game ban i think there is something wrong as it is provoked. Jaimie i don't think he was meant to kick him intentionally but i wouldn't say Hazard was stupid for hitting him as the kid is clearly smothering the ball so he more than likely got him on the follow through or got the ball but the ball winded the kid? He made the most of it as well. Also at 1:46 the kid started holding his leg, why? Hazard was nowhere near it.  

    ReplyDelete
  10. he didnt kick the ball boy hard enough

    ReplyDelete
  11. you not seen, he posted on twitter hours before the match he was going to get hold of the ball and time waste or something along those lines, and if you see the incident from the mobile phone video the way the ball comes out he kicked it more than the kid, and the kids 17 ffs

    ReplyDelete
  12. This cheating scum bag of a ball youth (nearly 18) tweeted before the game that he intended to time waste and he would be the best of all the ball boys at this
    They were all time wasting throughout
    he also happens to be the son of a Swansea Director so expect him to be be 'giving it large' in the next few weeks
    It makes me mad that liverpool are perpetually accused of cheating but where is the torrent of abuse towards the Swans for this orchestrated gamemanship?
    nev the Red

    ReplyDelete
  13. if nicol had kicked him he would have killed him! size 13 feet  !!!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. throw the book at the ball boy, a lengthy ban from the liberty stadium and an apology to cfc 
    lfc fan

    ReplyDelete
  15. Not only is he not a BOY he's nearly 18 he's also one of the Directors Son.
    Also if you watch it closely you'll see that Hazard was trying to get the ball.
     

    ReplyDelete
  16. are the chelsea players who were diving in the first half cheats as well,or
    is that acceptable,perhaps those players should issue an apology to scfc 

    ReplyDelete
  17. As much as i cant stand chelski that ball boy was a complete tool, he,s nearly the same age as raheem sterling , what about swansea getting spoken to about this ballboys actions? he sounds like a spoilt little brat, having said that hazard should have had more control but i think people calling for blood need to calm down a bit

    ReplyDelete
  18. Irrespective of the ball boy's action it was a form of assault and kicking at someone in front of thousands of people set a bad example. Trust the footballers to defend one of their own. At the end of the day the ref or an official should and could have sorted it and some Fergie time added to make up for the wasted time. Why has Eden apologised if he thinks it was okay.

    ReplyDelete
  19. When the red card came out, he should've run back over and given him another kick. Miserable little Jack.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Shows what kind of person Nicol is. In the heat of the action thing can get hot tempered, for sure, but even a football player should have enough in his head to control himself as much as not to get violent. What kind of role model should this be? Behave like a thug if things don't go your way? Think we have enough of this already.

    Anyway, the ball-boy obviously shouldn't have tried to block any player from the ball, and he also made quite a meal out of the situation. It will hardly happen as he's the owners son, but he should get a stadium ban for a while.

    Red card for Hazard should stand. What's the going rate for violent conduct? Three match ban? That's fine. Any further action required? Apart from anger management training for Hazard surely none.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Can posters stop referring to the lad as a kid. He drives a fucking Audi, boasts of drinking cider and milked the situation to get the player sent off. He was fucking lucky it wasn't ivanovic otherwise he'd still be in the air now!

    ReplyDelete
  22. The ball boy was only doing what his football heros do .If Hazard had the identical same thing done to him from an opposition player im 100 % certain he would of rolled around just the same because thats what pro footballers are taught to do.Anyway thanks for that Steve ,so if someone is time wasting its fine to kick them in the guts,oh sorry by accident, forgot to mention it.Im pretty sure the ref would of added on the time when the ball boy was wasting 20 seconds.Hazard is a top world class star with very highly skilled feet and extreme fitness and alertness yet when a chubby ball boy was laying on the floor on top of the ball Hazard went to kick the ball and missed lol even though in the film i saw it didnt look like the ball was in the open to go for it

    ReplyDelete
  23. Cantona got an eight month ban.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Two wrongs don't make a right.

    ReplyDelete
  25. With four officials around no need for Eden to take control of the game. Could Hazard not work out every game adds on time for stoppages.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Eden is not that skilled that the boys fingers were not prone to being broken. Then it would have beenan assault and police questioning

    ReplyDelete
  27. That really made me laugh.........

    ReplyDelete
  28. He's apologised to try to take the heat out of things. The real joke in this is this person being called a ball-boy. He's 17 and has openly boasted about time-wasting. next thing he'll be making a packet by selling his tory to The Sun. Hazard's been suckered by a lout

    ReplyDelete
  29. liverpool4life5659:37 pm, January 24, 2013

    Alot of people would of done the same as hazard, he kicked the ball, the ball boy deserved it.

    ReplyDelete
  30. This was sooo funny man! The ball boy's gone down in history!


    I think this should not happen either way (kicking or lying), but it was so funny that it happened to Chelsea hahaha!
    Bet everyone though "what if that was Suarez?"

    ReplyDelete
  31. Laudrup should start him on the bench for the next game.

    ReplyDelete
  32. This incident raises an important issue around timekeeping. If there was an independent timekeeper who stopped the clock each time any time in excess of the allotted amount was taken, there would be no incentive for any team or ball boy to waste time. When we played Newcastle earlier this season at a field they were wasting time from the first minute yet the referee only penalised their keeper in the final few minutes o the match.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I'm betting if Paul schoolers had have kicked that kid the commentator would have chuckled affectionately about how the little ginger scamp never could tackle

    ReplyDelete
  34. imagin if it was suarez , the stewards inquirey would turn into a goverment inquest by the next morning, MI5 MI6 interpol cia would be sworming all over the city of liverpool  

    ReplyDelete
  35. To even think Hazard did nothing wrong is pure stupidity, The Ball boy has done the wrong thing but he's not paid a fortune to do it, Hazard on the other hand is and he should hold his own actions in a higher regard as whether he'd like it or not he's a role model to young football fans and this behavior is unacceptable.
    The Ball boy should be sent home to his wife and kids (he looked old enough) and not be aloud be a ball boy again and Hazard should cop a ban.
    I think 3 matches would be enough being that the force was not quite at Cantona level.

    ReplyDelete
  36. I understand he called him taffy and handled the ball. He has to be banned for life. 

    ReplyDelete
  37. Dont know the rules on this one but wonder what would have happened if hazard had just left the no*ba lying on top of the ball? Has the ref any jurisdiction over ballboys, ive read a lot of articles recently highlighting cheating, surely this is as well, i think the 3 match ban should be enough in this case, and an oscar for the ballboy

    ReplyDelete
  38. Thank goodness Eden Hazard did this and not Luis Suarez.  

    People may have been accusing him of deliberately trying to murder the young man.

    ReplyDelete
  39. This "kid" has probably gone home to the wife and kids and bragged about it lol.
    But doesnt he have a right to roll around on the ground? i mean players do it.

    ReplyDelete
  40. You want the game decided by the players on the pitch but then say a ballboy to be able to cost his team a PK? Isn't that contradictory?

    ReplyDelete
  41. Never seen another ball boy obstruct the player from getting the ball then falling on it to stop the player retrieving it. Come to think of it can't remember seeing a player do it b

    ReplyDelete
  42. Ye defo!! If it was Suarez tho it would be blown out of proportion. I personally would have kicked his head in, the little sh*t lying on the ball. Swanseas tactics

    ReplyDelete
  43. And if your auntie had balls shed be your uncle.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Ball boys should be banned. It was bad enough with the Stoke towel boys.  Hazard should have kicked him all over the park Typical cheating Welsh.

    ReplyDelete
  45. That joke has already been posted all over facebook, you just robbed it..

    ReplyDelete
  46. if Nicol had kicked him, he would have sailed over the bar....

    ReplyDelete
  47.  Little scummy 17 yo p rick! I would've stood on his head. Swansea are a premier league team acting like the bottom league..

    ReplyDelete
  48. Expect a "spurious victim complex" retort from the Editor very soon, mate.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Imagine that was Suarez? Everyone would've attacked him from every angle and written a load of articles saying what a cheating, diving, child beating scumbag he was, especially JK, Oh JK would've loved that..

    ReplyDelete
  50. Wow how soft are kids and people these days, pathetic. The kid deserved it. I would of done the same thing. He was was wasting time, he knew what he was doing, he asked for it. Hazard obviously kicked the ball, and kicked the kid a bit at the same time, he wasn't hurt, he was milking it, it was worse than a Suarez dive.

    Fair enough if hazard seriously belted the kid, or kicked him repeatedly , but he didn't. Kids need to seriously toughen up, they are meant to be roughed up, that how they grow and mature. Bunch of cream puffs, harden up and play some rugby!!!

    ReplyDelete
  51. I've never understood why people think footballers should be role models. 
    After all, most of them don't live in the real world, have an obscenely over-inflated salary before they even reach their 20's, work a couple of hours a day, then bugger off to stare at their huge flatscreen TV's whilst their current bird gets 'vejazzled' for a night out..If you seriously think that kids will now have a compulsive urge to kick the nearest ball-boy they can find, then I would like some of what you are having.It reminds me of an affronted bloke at work moaning "What am I supposed to tell my kids??" after Fowler had snorted the line. Why tell them anything, other than the majority of footballers have an IQ that matches their shirt number, and they are all complete loons?If you want role models, you could maybe use your parents? Or better still, members of our Armed Forces....

    ReplyDelete
  52. If he had left him too long with the ball, I guess there was a very real danger of the ball-boy trying to eat it.

    ReplyDelete
  53. This ' kids' dad is a multi lillionaire swansea director and the 'kid' will inherit £41m - spoilt cheating brat -ban him from Wembley!!

    ReplyDelete
  54. This Suarez thing is such a myth. Hazard has been absolutely slated by the media over this, both here and abroad (do a google search).

    If Suarez had done this, I wouldn't have written a thing about it, mainly because I blame the ball-boy, not the player. It's not an act of cheating, it's a retaliation brought on by frustration, and that's something I can understand.

    When Suarez gave Fulham fans the finger last season, I didn't write anything about it. It was wrong, but it's not in the same league (IMO) as cheating, and that's the thing I hate the most about football.

    ReplyDelete
  55. The problem lays with the ballboy if he had done what he is there for this wouldnt have happened the ballboy should lose his position at the club The FA will deal with Hazard he didnt kick the ballboy as such he tried to get the ball back into play but he shoulsnt have done what he did Looking at the ballboys tweets he is a spoilt brat who had intended to whatever he could to waste time if i was his father i would makesure that was the last game he attended for a long long time well untill he was 18 anyway

    ReplyDelete
  56. A lot is being made out of f all really. Ball boy was wrong, Hazard was wrong. Move on and don't feed silly incidents.

    ReplyDelete
  57. lol it was quite obscure.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Do you not think it was an act of cheating by the ballboy jamie, whats your view on that mate?

    ReplyDelete
  59. I think justice has been as close to fairly served as possible. The ballboy looks like a tw*t and Hazard has a 3 match ban.

    ReplyDelete
  60. people are blowing this way out of proportion, it feels like the western world is in some granny state sometimes. why does everyone think he intended to kick/hurt the ball boy himself? when you're 2-0 down with 15 minutes to go, wouldn't your instinctual reaction  be to get the ball and not worry about the kid? the ball clearly pops out the other side from hazard's little poke at it, and the ball boy absolutely milks it. in hazard's mind, he would have thought the quickest way to get the ball back was get it himself instead of waiting for an official to come and sort it out. this was a non-violent incident that has unfairly tarnished hazard's image, and i for one absolutely agree with steve nicol and joey barton

    ReplyDelete
  61. im not really qualified to debate modern social stereotypes and the the mentality behind choosing role models with you.
    ive grown up looking up to certain pro athletes even in the earlier stages of my life refering to certain players as my heroes, So i do apologise if my view of athletes is different to yours.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Ha Ha Ha. That is a very good one!

    ReplyDelete
  63. I believe Hazard was going for the ball but fell into the ballboy's trap. Both were wrong but Nicol probably acted up because the ballboy looked too much like him...

    ReplyDelete
  64. The ball boy was wrong but as a professional, Hazard should not kick the boy or the ball as he claimed. Besides, the boy is only 17 and Hazard being older should have more sense than that. Whichever way one looks at it, Hazard was in the wrong and totally  deserves the red. It appears that he is no different from a hooligan except that he is a very rich hooligan.

    It is sad when footballers reached this level where they lost all sense of humanity. And the FA and FIFA should also address this issue of ball boys not giving the ball back into play promptly. 

    Whatever it is, footballers like Hazard should be role models to the youngsters with their appropriate  behavior on and off the pitch. 

    ReplyDelete
  65. What is the age limit for ball boys? I am sure FIFA has rules in regards. If he is over the age limit. The red card should be revoked.
    This dude had premeditated to cheat. 

    ReplyDelete
  66. Brain explosion, pure and simple. All he had to do was stand back and wait a few more seconds and he would have had the ball. There was just no need for it, regardless of what he claims he was trying to do. If the ball boy was time wasting then the ref will deal with it, it's just not up to the players to demand that they have the ball given to them immediately or else they start lashing out with their feet. 

    ReplyDelete
  67.  jaimie i agree hazzard should have been sent off but if the fa look at it again as you have said on monday mornings surely the ball boy should also get a ban for simulation;-)

    ReplyDelete
  68. For what the ball boy try to keep the ball?He should give the ball to Hazard back.No point point if he try to delay the times with doing that thing.He deserve get the punishment like that.I also agree Hazard better get red card because he failed to control his hot temperature.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Of course he should have been sent off. He could have turned around, looked at the ref and ask him to solve the situation. All in all, what does he lose? 30 seconds? This game was not lost by them in just 30 seconds. That said, that ball boy should never be allowed to be a ball boy again and if Swansea do not act on this, they should be fined for it.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Not to forget the Mossad.

    ReplyDelete
  71. When I was a kid, I looked up at professional footballers. Yes, they live in anther world, but they are shown on TV in the real world. And as I kid I didn't know that most stuff on TV was simply broadcasted to dull peoples minds.

    ReplyDelete
  72. You'll find that most people in South Wales are very much assimilated to the English. That doesn't make your comment less hostile to strangers.

    ReplyDelete
  73. It was an act of cheating from the ball who hid under the ball-boy.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Although technically they do dont they? I mean in mathematic terms, i.e. 2 negatives = a postive? :-P

    ReplyDelete
  75. No, not even in mathematic terms:

    -5 + (-5) = -10

    It's different if you multiply, though. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  76. The ball boy was wrong, and he should be punished by Swansea City FC. He was however, a BOY. Not a professional viewed by millions worldwide on a weekly basis, in a professional sport, for a professional club, being paid a very substantial weekly salary. The ball BOY was not an international footballer, representing an international recognized football team, in a popular cup competition. It doesn't really matter what the boy did, when, where, and to whom. The fact of the matter is, Hazard, the professional, the adult, and the person in focus, should not be seen kicking a minor. In no place or time is that acceptable, so just because Hazard was in a rush, does not grant him the right to hurt another human being, let alone a child. The English FA, and Chelsea, had to deal with Hazard's actions, as they are responsible. The world should expect better from international role models such as Eden Hazard, and not ball boys from less appealing football clubs. The BOY was wrong, the PROFESSIONAL footballer was disgraceful.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Well I was never any good at maths so im not surprised im wrong :-P

    ReplyDelete
  78. Nothing to worry about. I was very good at maths (as long as it was about the basics), but still have no job :-(

    ReplyDelete
  79. IMO 17 year old ball-boy cheated and deserved what he got. He is old enough to know. The kick wasn't that hard. Boy play acting.

    Tell officials? And waste more time? Be honest, you are desperately chasing the game, in the heat of the moment, wouldn't you have done exactly same thing? 

    Like Suarez case, trying to be politically correct has driven out all common sense and natural justice.

    ReplyDelete
  80. Injury feigning/simulating and time-wasting from footballer...oops, I mean ballboy.

    There is your legacy, "modern football", as this is the example you have set. So reap the rewards(!) 

    In terms of ban length, FA will probably do their usual display of inconsistency. Looks like he is getting more than 3 games, yet the likes of Barton gets the standard 3 game ban for outright punching a player. But I guess maybe the FA will justify that they are more strict on offences against spectators and non-playing personnel. So maybe in this case, the in/consistency could be justified.

    ReplyDelete
  81. what would have happenedif the assault on the boy had resulted in the boy being injued. Would it still have been alright to kick the boy. leave it to the ref and linesman to sort out. If  he delayed it for 25 seconds then tthe ref would have added it on. No need to take the law in his own hands 60 seconds is a head kicking.

    ReplyDelete
  82. Chico is talking shyte, no matter what he's done with the ball, Put it up his arris or punctured it you don't do that.

    Problem is the cheating diving faking exploits of the pro's set examples for the youngens and IMO that's exactly what has been born out by the Swansea lad. Shame but true a d let's face it it won't get better.

    Rant over.

    YNWA

    ReplyDelete
  83. I do want the game decided on the pitch. I don't want an idiot on the sidelines ruining a match. I hate when fans, including our own, create disturbances in matches. This was worse, this was an employee of the TEAM, who was not on the pitch as a player, trying to cheat to get his team a win. Time was running down in the match, the "kid" knew it and deliberately wasted time trying to influence the outcome of the game. It's cheating, pure and simple. All the crap about Suarez handling the ball to go into the goal or diving, it's the same thing as this, cheating and it has no place. Hell yes a PK should have been given.

    ReplyDelete
  84. No he wouldn't have. The kid was out to waste as much time as possible. He even said so on Twitter BEFORE the match. Hazzard could have stood there for an hour, there was no way the little punk was giving up the ball before he absolutely had to, and then probably would have tossed it to a Swansea player instead, just to milk more time off the clock. He should have handed it off immediately, instead lunchbox dove on top of it and held onto it like it was the last sandwich on earth.

    No person in the stands or on the sidelines (who isn't an official,) should be influencing the outcome of a match!

    ReplyDelete