Roma fined for ball boy wasting time

Italy Roma have been fined 10,000 euros after ball boys at the Olimpico stadium wasted a total of two minutes in their Serie A win over Monza.

On October 24, Serie A decided to discipline Roma members after round nine. Coach Jose Mourinho and assistant goalkeeper Nuno Santos will be banned from coaching for one match, after both received red cards in the match against Monza. Mourinho and Santos will not be allowed to coach Roma players when they meet Inter in round 10 on the evening of October 29.

Coach Jose Mourinho during Roma's 1-0 win over Monza in round 9 of Serie A at Olimpico Stadium, Rome, Italy on October 22, 2023. Photo: Lapresse — Coach Jose Mourinho during Roma's 1-0 win over Monza in round 9 of Serie A at Olimpico Stadium, Rome, Italy on October 22, 2023. Photo: *Lapresse*

Serie A also fined Roma, a rare fine in football, for allowing ball boys to delay play. In the match against Monza, striker Stephan El Shaarawy scored the only goal for the home team in the 90th minute. Serie A explained that after the home team's goal, the ball boys "systematically reduced the amount of time the ball was in play, forcing the referee to add two minutes to the second half."

In football, ball boys are usually young boys, maybe young players from the team's training camp. Mourinho once shared joy with a ball boy for Tottenham, when he quickly brought the ball onto the field and helped his team score a goal. The Portuguese coach even took him to visit Tottenham players the next day.

However, there are also boys who do not complete the task of bringing the ball into the field properly. In the Madrid derby at Atletico in March 2014, a boy named Ivan threw the ball away when Real striker Cristiano Ronaldo ran to claim it. Ivan was later criticized by many people on social media, and Atletico Madrid also suspended the boy from duty.

A more famous incident occurred in January 2013, when then-Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard kicked a Swansea ball boy in the League Cup semi-final. Hazard was shown a red card and later apologised, but the ball boy was not punished.

The fine imposed on Roma is also up to 10,000 euros (about 10,600 USD), which is high compared to other fines. The penalty also attracted many curious people on social networks. On Reddit , the account julientotti commented: "Mourinho is willing to pay for this penalty from Roma out of his own pocket."

Hoang An

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