In
my many years of watching football, I can't recall an incident as bizarre and
baffling as the one involving Eden Hazard on Wednesday night. I'm sure you've
all seen the footage, Hazard kicked the ball boy at a time when Chelsea were
frustrated and in urgent need of the ball, after the ball boy was blatantly
time wasting.
The
term "kicked" is a highly suggestive term and connotes the entirely
wrong images. It suggests that Hazard, in a fit of rage whacked the ball boy as
hard as he possibly could. That is in no way the case. The only reason Hazard
swung his foot back was to get the ball out of the ball boy's body which
covered the ball in an attempt to waste time. I myself have played in games
with friends where the goalkeeper has had both hands on the ball and in an
attempt to score a cheap goal players have kicked the ball out of his realm.
Childish behaviour, I know, but this is all Hazard wanted to do. Get the ball.
He didn't mean to kick the boy (if he even did) surely anyone speaking honestly
would realise and appreciate this?
A
22 year old footballer kicking a ball "boy" is also misleading. The
term "boy" connotes he was about twelve or thirteen years old, but in
reality the "boy" is seventeen. He knew exactly what he was doing,
Hazard didn't attack some innocent kid, which is the way some people are
referring to the situation as. The ball boy was purposefully wasting time, as
his tweet sent earlier in the day read "#needed for time wasting".
The ball boy covered the ball with his body, it was obvious that he was
attempting to waste time. After the kick, the boy was clearly exaggerating the
severity of his injury, you could see it in his face. He obviously felt some
pain, but there can't have been much damage.
Don't
get me wrong, Hazard deserves some blame. It was foolish to kick a ball boy;
it's foolish to kick anyone on a football pitch, especially with the cameras
which are seemingly able to pick up everything that occurs on the field of
play. Ultimately, Hazard made an immature, unnecessary, and spare of the moment
decision that backfired, and resulted in him receiving a red card. I cannot
blame or criticise the referee's decision either. It is extremely rare that a
player gets involved in a physical altercation and with only his assistants to
offer contrary opinions. In the end, a red card was probably appropriate as
Hazard did physically assault someone, albeit not intentionally. Any more
punishment of Hazard would be unnecessary, with the exception of perhaps a
verbal telling off by the FA.
To
conclude, I believe this entire incident has been blown out of proportion on a
ridiculously large scale. Hazard did in no way mean to hurt the boy; in fact I
don’t think he even meant to touch the boy at all. He wanted the ball, and did
what was required to get it. Admittedly, Hazard crossed the line and should
have been calmer rather than kicking or trying to physically force the ball out
of the boy’s control. I agree sending Hazard off was the appropriate decision from
referee Chris Foy, but some of the reaction to the incident has been utterly
ridiculous. The boy was not in much pain, but people are acting as if it was a
kick on the scale of Eric Cantona’s Kung-Fu kick in a Manchester United game
away to Crystal Palace. Now that was reprehensible. To suggest more punishment
and branding Hazard a ‘’thug’’ as some tabloid newspapers have is laughable, he
has apologised and I hope this is the end of this particular fiasco.
