Chelsea’s Eden Hazard had been held free of any blame by Harry Redknapp, the QPR manager. The player had got a red card playing against Swansea for allegedly kicking a teenaged ball boy Charlie Morgan. Referee Chris Foy sent off Belgium playmaker Hazard in the last stages of the semi final played at Liberty Stadium last Wednesday. The events started with the ball boy refusing to hand the ball to Hazard after a goal kick.
It so happened that once Morgan seemingly lay over the ball, a frustrated Hazard toe kicked it from under the ball boy, appearing to be kicking the boy instead. Redknapp did not mince any words and said, “The ball boy had no business lying over the ball, that’s inexplicable. And Hazard just toe kicked it from under him, whereas I’m sure many players would have been more forceful in the kick.”
Redknapp continued, “Imagine how frustrated Hazard would have been at that moment, being impaired in his team’s desperate attempts to make it to the cup’s final. Yes, the kid behaved like a stupid individual, and this episode has been totally blown up into a ridiculous issue. The lad even tweeted before the match that he was a time waster, and his behaviour was absolutely disgusting. Hazard just touched the ball, and not this kid.”
Last night, Morgan tweeted regarding the incident, “These 24 hours have been crazy. I won’t press the matters further; have already talked to Hazard.” However, complaint calls from public members from West Wales, Kent and Sussex have led the police into continuing investigations. Charges looked like they wouldn’t be inflicted on Hazard once he met Morgan and the two exchanged apologies for the events of the match, which were so easily avoidable.