Iconic Moments in Football No.72
This week’s ‘Iconic Moment’ comes from the League Cup Semi Final Second Leg between Swansea City and Chelsea on 23rd January 2013.
The incident involved Chelsea’s Eden Hazard and a 17-year-old ballboy called Charlie Morgan.
Swansea had won the first leg 2-0 at Stamford Bridge and Michael Laudrup’s men were 90 minutes away from their first major cup final. The home side were intent on wasting as much time as possible in the second leg.
With 80 minutes on the clock, the match was still goalless. A Chelsea attack fizzled out as the ball rolled out of play for a goal kick to Swansea in the direction of ballboy Charlie Morgan.
Chelsea’s winger Eden Hazard rushed over to get the ball to throw it back to Swansea goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel. He wanted the game to resume as soon as possible in the hope that Chelsea could get back in the game.
Morgan slowly went up to the ball and with his back to the pitch, blocked Hazard from getting near the ball. The Belgian midfielder shoved the ballboy to the floor who fell to the floor.
The youngster landed on the ball and wouldn’t free the ball from his grasp. Hazard tried to wrestle the ball free and in a moment of frustration, kicked Morgan in the ribs. The ballboy released the ball, Hazard picked it up and walked away before throwing it to Tremmel.
Almost immediately, referee Chris Foy beckoned Hazard over and gave him a red card. The Chelsea players protested the decision while the injured Morgan was walked away by a member of Swansea City staff. Another ballboy took his place behind the goal, in front of the angry Chelsea fans behind the goal.
During the game, the commentators questioned whether Swansea City were deliberately time-wasting. Chelsea argued that they were and there was definitely a strong case for their argument.
Both Hazard and Morgan met after the game and it was reported that they both apologised to one another. The incident became a real talking point and made national news.
Swansea City faced League Two Bradford City in the final. The Yorkshire side would undoubtedly be a tough opponent as they had won the hearts of the nation with their run to the final as they beat three Premier League teams on their way to the Final. Wigan Athletic, Arsenal and Aston Villa were brushed aside.
In the end, Swansea ran out comfortable winners at Wembley, winning convincingly 5-0. Nathan Dyer and Jonathan De Guzman both scored twice and Michu to give Swansea their first major trophy.
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