PREMIER LEAGUE BALL BOYS AND GIRLS GIVEN NEW INSTRUCTIONS AMID 'UNFAIR ADVANTAGE' CLAIM

Ball boys and ball girls at Premier League matches will now all be required to stop throwing the ball back to players, amid fears home teams could receive an unfair advantage over their opponents.

Previously, there had been instances of the youngsters receiving balls thrown to them, allowing home sides to restart play quicker than the visitors. The multi-ball system used by the Premier League since 2022 had been designed to help stamp out time-wasting, but now there are concerns about an unfair playing field.

'Ball assistants', as they are now known, have been at the centre of incidents in a number of competitions this season. These include Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno appearing to shove one individual during an away defeat at Bournemouth, and Mark Robins reportedly leaving one ball assistant in tears after his Coventry side won at Wolves in the cup.

As reported by The Telegraph, a new ruling indicates the players themselves should be the ones collecting the ball from the nearest cone. The ball assistants' job will include returning balls to cones after one has been removed, and there will be four extra balls around the touchline following the changes.

“It’s clear that Bernd went to speak with the boy after that moment as the top professional he is, a really experienced player," Fulham manager Marco Silva said after the Leno incident on Boxing Day, suggesting the German didn't push or shove the ball boy. "We wanted to play quick. I don’t know who gave instructions for them to hold always the ball to delay the beginning of the game again.

“I didn’t see him pushing. He touched the ball boy, not pushed the ball boy. They are different things. I am not English but I know the difference between one word and the other.

“To the fourth official it is so clear that the ball boys were delaying the game. At the moment it was already 2-0 but the rules are there. We wanted to play quick like Bournemouth before they had the chance to play quick."

Will the new measures make a difference? Have your say in the comments section

In March, Coventry boss Robins was shown celebrating in the face of a Wolves ball boy after his team's cup quarter-final win. Wolves had led 2-1 going into the final minute, only for a pair of late goals to turn the game on its head.

“I have an apology to make because before that (winning goal) happened, a ball boy had the ball in his hand,” Robins said. “He dropped the ball and walked away, smiling. It really annoyed me, but he's a kid, you know. At the end of the day I've reacted.

“We scored the goal and I've gone and celebrated in front of him. So I'm apologising to him. I do not show emotion very often, but I did today, and that's what the FA Cup does to you. But I apologise unreservedly to him.”

Wolves boss O'Neil called Robins' behaviour "disgusting", though he appreciated his opposite number had apologised to the ball assistant. "The boy is really upset. It shouldn't happen," O'Neil said.

"I don't have too much to say on it because we've lost and it'll sound bitter, but I thought it was really important for me to speak to Mark about it. They're just kids doing their job.”

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2024-03-28T22:55:46Z dg43tfdfdgfd