On New Years Eve I posted a rather cynical blog about the state of our beloved game. It didn’t offer any solutions, just a reminder that there were many incidents last year that have made fans re-think their unconditional love of the Premier League.
Ticket prices and transfer fees hit new highs, racism took centre stage and diving developed a new lease of life. And yet, despite all of that, nothing saddened me more than seeing Eden Hazard kick a ball boy in the ribs.
Eden Hazard jogs over to the corner (Photo credit: Ben Sutherland)
For years people have been accusing footballers of being terrible role models for their young fans. Diving, feigning injury, arguing with the ref, racially abusing one another and refusing to shake hands are all rightly condemned as poor examples for children and are constantly ruining the game’s image. However, what can be worse for football’s image that the world witnessing first-hand, the consequences of those failures. That is, a 17 year-old boy using what his idols have inadvertently taught him to full effect and then being abused physically (kicked) and verbally (tweeted) for doing so.
Planning to time waste on twitter, falling on the ball and refusing to give it up, rolling around on the floor holding his ribs, hanging his head in the grass and grimacing like Peter Griffin when he trips on the sidewalk and hurts his knee, gasping in pain over and over again until it is no longer bearable to watch, walking off the pitch holding the injured area, supported unnecessarily by two colleagues, getting the other team’s star player sent off. It was all too familiar and clearly influenced by years of watching the Premier League and its players.
What should be done about this shocking incident? The FA could add a few games onto Hazard’s three game ban. According to ex-Chelsea man Pat Nevin we should abolish ball-boys altogether. Or maybe we should just put them through a vigorous training regime in the mould of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships? You wouldn’t see a ball-boy withholding a tennis ball from Roger Federer, just because he was playing Andy Murray on centre court. Unlikely also that Federer would hit him with his racquet if said ball-boy was to do something so outrageous.
In a world where Bradford City can make history one night and a ball-boy being kicked, completely overshadow them the next, you can be forgiven for admitting you are a fan, just as confused as all those questioning why they watch the Premier League week in, week out.
Obviously the Premier League has bigger problems to deal with but this laughable incident begs the question, what new lows will the game stoop to this year?
Related articles
- Eden Hazard sees red for KICKING ballboy in stomach in Swansea defeat of Chelsea (thesun.co.uk)
- Eden Hazard Kicks Ball Boy In Stomach, Gets Red Carded But Can’t Stop Swansea From Reaching League Cup Final [GIF] (epltalk.com)
- Hazard sent off for ball boy kick (bbc.co.uk)
- Eden Hazard ball boy Charlie Morgan ‘was disgraceful’, says Pat Nevin (dailymail.co.uk)
- VIDEO: Chelsea’s Eden Hazard kicks ball bay during English League Cup match (o.canada.com)
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