A soccer manager in England faced criticism from a rival coach for his reaction toward a 13-year-old ball boy after a dramatic FA Cup quarterfinal match on Saturday.
Following his team’s late winning goal in the 10th minute of stoppage time, Coventry manager Mark Robins approached the ball boy and crouched toward him, later delivering a fist pump in his direction.
Robins, feeling remorseful, offered an apology during his post-match press conference, explaining that the ball boy had irritated him before the goal by dropping the ball in front of him and walking away with a smile.
“He’s a kid, at the end of the day,” Robins acknowledged. “I have reacted. We scored the goal and I went and celebrated in front of him. I apologize to him … I don’t show emotion very often, but that is what the FA Cup does to you. I apologize to him unreservedly.”
Wolves manager Gary O’Neil condemned Robins’ actions as “disgusting.”
“I was disappointed,” O’Neil remarked. “I waited for Mark downstairs and spoke to him because I was really respectful at the end, having lost a massive game, waited for them to finish their celebrations, shook everyone’s hands, congratulated them on a real good performance, reaching Wembley and what a fantastic achievement it was.”
“And he apologized. But to celebrate in a young boy’s face like that, I thought was disgusting. The boy is really upset. It shouldn’t happen, but I don’t have too much to say about it because we have lost, and it’s going to seem bitter. But I thought it was really important to speak to Mark about it because they are just kids doing a job.”
