Five Match Ban ... Due to (Ball) Tosser

My intentionally placed double entendre should illustrate my opinion regarding the incident with Swansea City ballboy Charlie Morgan, who refused to return a ball back into play by falling on it.

So he slipped right?

Just an accident?

Uh, nope ... as he tweeted about it before the match that evening.

The whole story, the time wasting by the ballboy, the extraction by Chelsea's Eden Hazard, subsequent send off and suspension, and reaction from Chelsea and others can be found at Swansea City ballboy Charlie Morgan boasted about time wasting before Capital One semi-final with Chelsea, from The Telegraph.

It is a surreal read.

So ... was Chris Foy right to promptly send Hazard off?

Based on the video alone (in the article), you bet!

The reason ... say it with me ... violent conduct. Keep in mind that SFP is reserved against an opponent, AND when the ball is in play.

Now, let's change the scenario a bit. Say that our ballboy, Brady, was still man handled by a player, lets call him Raven, but did not feign injuries, nor roll around like a lame cow until he was carted off by the attending staff, just held the ball and did not return it into play. Should that hypothetical ball boy, Brady, be dismissed (not sent off), and the involved player, Raven, be sent off?

Again my opinions are yes, and yes. Where is the authority however?

For the player the answer is clear as the referee has the authority to do so, and should. Poking the ball out from underneath a ballboy, however harmless, should not happen anywhere around the pitch. Granted this was a true test of patience, but the player needs to hold his water and wait for the ballboy to get up and take it from him as necessary.

Regarding Brady, our ballboy, let's start with Law 5 where the referee is empowered to, "stop(s), suspends or abandons the match because of outside interference of any kind;"

Okay, so far so good. What about a ballboy? Is he an actor we can take action on? After all, Law 5 states that we may, "take(s) action against team officials who fail to conduct themselves in a responsible manner and may, at his discretion, expel them from the field of play and its immediate surrounds;"

Is a ballboy a team official and thus putting him in our purview for action?

I don't think so, so we can't directly dismiss a ballboy ... BUT ... they are under the control of team official, and as such we should make a request through that official to dismiss the ballboy.

It may seem a little convoluted, but it is your best bet. Also, and think about this from the outside for a second ... a referee dismissing a kid from a professional match without any other intervention.

That may not look so good for the cameras.

Get the person responsible for the ballkids and work through them ... it is your best bet.

Even better, is to have a chat before the match. During my time in MLS, I loved to do this. It was good fun and I got to meet some great kids that were even more excited than I was to be involved in The Game. A quick chat about expectations, and to do their best. 2 Minutes tops.

Touch wood, I never had an issue with a ballkid yet.

Prevent, prevent, prevent ... even with the things you think that can never go wrong.

Then again, I never met the (ball) tosser Charlie Morgan.