Bernd Leno defended by Fulham boss after remarkable incident with ballboy

26 December 2023 , 17:54

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Bernd Leno was defended by Marco Silva after the incident at Bournemouth (Image: Sean Ryan/IPS/REX/Shutterstock)

Fulham boss Marco Silva DEFENDED Bernd Leno after an altercation with a ballboy during the Cottagers' 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth.

Former Arsenal stopper Leno became embroiled in a bizarre clash with a young ballboy during the second half at the Vitality Stadium, with his side trailing 2-0. Leno rushed to retrieve the ball to take a goal kick, but was unhappy with the speed at which the young boy was handing the ball back to him.

Leno duly grabbed it from his arms and proceeded to push him, much to the fury of the home crowd. Leno, already on a yellow card for attempting to delay Dominic Solanke from taking a penalty kick, was then confronted by the Cherries striker also. Referee Tim Robinson gestured for play to continue and a steward spoke to the ballboy to see if he was OK.

Leno approached the boy during the next break in play and appeared to apologise, giving him a hug. However, with supporters still unhappy, Robinson then spoke with a member of the home side's security staff and the ballboy was relocated to a seat in the stands.

Speaking about the incident post-game, Fulham boss Silva insisted that while Leno “touched” the boy it was not sufficient to call it a “push.”

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He also suggested that the ball boys had been instructed to take their time so Bournemouth could preserve their two-goal cushion.

Silva said: “I spoke with Bernd about it. It’s clear he spoke to the boy after the moment. Top professional he is, he wanted to play quick but the ballboys were holding the ball.

“I don’t know who give them the instructions to hold it. He touched the ballboy, not pushed him - they are different things. I’m not English but I know the difference. He touched him.“The fourth official was clear the ball boys were delaying the game. We wanted to play quick. The ballboys did their job with instructions to delay the game. At that moment the referee decided to end the multi-ball.”

Bernd Leno takes the ball from the ballboy

Fulham 'keeper Bernd Leno appears to shove the ballboy at Bournemouth (Amazon Prime Video)

But Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, who watched from the stands as he served a one-match suspension, said there were no instructions to the ballboys.

He said: “I don’t want to make anything because I’ve not seen it repeated.

"I don’t know what happened exactly but everyone has to be careful because they are boys who are trying to help everyone, not only Bournemouth, all parties involved.”

Alan Smith