Eden Hazard and Swansea ballboy 'both at fault', says Deputy PM Nick Clegg
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he believed both the player and the ball boy were at fault.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has waded into the debate about Chelsea forward Eden Hazard's tangle with a Swansea ball boy - saying he believed they were both at fault.
Hazard was sent off for apparently kicking 17-year-old ball boy Charlie Morgan during his side's Capital One Cup semi-final against Swansea on Wednesday night.
Tempers flared in the final minutes of the second-leg match with Chelsea trailing 0-2 on aggregate, when the teenage ball boy refused to return an out of play ball.
He was seen to be kicked by the Belgian player after refusing to give him the ball, and Hazard was sent off.
See also: Eden Hazard ball boy boasted of time wasting on Twitter before Swansea v Chelsea clash
The incident has sparked a furious debate on social media and among football pundits. Mr Clegg has become the latest figure to give a view on the matter.
Asked about the controversy during his weekly phone-in on LBC Radio on Thursday morning, Mr Clegg said: "My early judgment is, this is going to sound like painful fence-sitting, but I think they are both at fault.
"Hazard absolutely should not have done what he did, that was absolutely out of order. [Chelsea manager Rafa] Benitez has been clear on that. But the ball boy did seem to kind of cover the ball, which is frustrating for a player."
Earlier, former Wales international described his shock at the incident.
Posting on Twitter, he said: "That is a 1st, getting sent off for kicking a ball boy, unbelievable, hope the ball boy is ok!
"First and foremost you can't kick a ballboy but hazard was surely just trying to get the ball back, wasn't malicious!
"He tried to poke ball from under ball boy who was smothering the ball ,in the process catching him! Incredible."
"If the ball boy gives the ball straight back and does his job properly that doesn't happen!"
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand wrote: "What have I just witnessed?! A ball,a ball boy,a player + a red card..u would never have imagined all that could go together in 1 sentence!"
And Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler added: "Right decision even though ball boy milked it."
CNN talk show host Piers Morgan said: "Eden Hazard sent off for deliberately kicking a ballboy in the ribs. Yes, you read right. Unbelievable!"