Eden Hazard was charged for his ball boy kick by the Football Association. Is punishment too harsh or not harsh enough?
When the video of Chelsea winger Eden Hazard kicking a ball boy went viral, many in the industry knew that further punishment was coming. Now it's here.
According to ESPN.com, the Football Association charged Hazard with violent conduct for kicking a ball boy during a League Cup semifinal match against Swansea. The report says that Hazard has until Jan. 29 to respond to the charge, the FA said on its website, and after that will face a more harsh penalty.
"The FA will remind all clubs of their responsibilities in ensuring ball boys and other personnel around the pitch act in an appropriate manner at all times and will liaise with competitions accordingly," the FA said on its website.
The play occurred on Wednesday towards the end of the match against Swansea when the ball was kicked aside and off an advertising board located behind the goal line area in Liberty Stadium. The 17-year-old ball boy walked towards the ball and picked it up, just as Hazard ran to get the ball for the upcoming goal kick.
As he reached the area, the boy fell down with the ball under him, prompting Hazard to try to lean over and grab the ball free. The Belgian used both hands to try to pull it away, kicking at the young ball boy in the process.
"Demba Ba told me the ball boy held on to it," Swansea defender Ashley Williams told Sky Sports 1. "I saw him kick him in the rib and you can't do that to a young boy."
Hazard took the ball and jogged back on the field, leaving the boy rolled on his side grabbing his ribs. According to ESPN.com, the ball boy worked for the team for six years.
Following the play, Hazard was given a red card by referee Chris Foy in the 80th minute, making a number of Chelsea players react loudly, since they felt Hazard was just trying to get the ball back in play quickly. The team could not push through any goals. Allowing Swansea to advance with the total-goal series on 2-0 aggregate. Swanseanext will play fourth-tier Bradford in the final at Wembley on Feb. 24.
Following the incident Hazard apologized to the ball boy and clarified what happened after the match.
"The boy put his whole body onto the ball and I was just trying to kick the ball and I think I kicked the ball and not the boy. I apologize," he explained. "The ball boy came in the changing room and we had a quick chat and I apologized and the boy apologized as well, and it is over. Sorry."
Following the game, the ball boy and his family was interviewed by police, but no charges were brought against Hazard criminally.
"It is an extraordinary incident," former referee Dermot Gallagher said. "There's no defense for that. Someone said it was borne out of frustration but you have to accept it. It was an extreme, but you can't have that at a football match."
Many former players have come out to support Hazard, saying that he was trying to gte the ball back in play as quickly as he could since the team needed two goals to force extra time in the second leg. Instead, Chelsea was eliminated from the League Cup with the 0-0 tie and now has more bad press to deal with.
Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar wrote on Twitter: "I'm not saying it's the correct thing 2 do but when in the heat of the moment u just want the ball."
ESPN reported that the ball boy wrote on his Twitter account hours before the game: "The king of all ball boys is back making his final appearance #needed #for #timewasting".
Iain Macintosh wrote on ESPN about the incident, saying:
"As for the ballboy, 17-year-old Charlie Morgan, I think he's been punished enough already. Yes, he knew what he was doing. He threw himself on the ball and wrapped himself around it, doing everything he could to prevent Hazard from restarting play. His actions have been compared to a brave soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save his unit, but that would credit him with rather more nobility than he deserves. Morgan was stupid, but so was I at 17. And so were you."
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger also spoke about the incident, saying thaty both sides were at fault.
"Both were wrong," Wenger said. "The ball boys are there to get the ball back as quickly to the players and into the game, they are not there to waste time. You have to educate the ball boys, that no matter if it is the home team or the away team, you have to get the ball back as quickly as possible."
Hazard has scored six goals and added six assists in 23 Premier League games this season, which is his first with Chelsea after coming over from Lille on a 32 million pound ($51 million) transfer fee. He is considered to be one of the top young players in the game, but the ball boy incident could follow him for a while.
Hazard came onto the scene as a youngster and later won the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year Award in 2008-09. Chelsea hadn't lost in three straight matches after drawing with Southampton and defeating Arsenal 2-1. The last loss for the club was against Swansea City back on Jan. 9 in the first Capital One Cup match, when they fell 2-0.
