Ball boys, strict protocols and flashpoints in a role that sometimes shapes matches | OneFootball

Ball boys are usually unseen, yet can be thrust into view. In Liverpool on Tuesday, PSG’s Désiré Doué was pushed off the pitch by Dominik Szoboszlai, collided with a microphone, then tumbled into a ball boy. A month earlier, during PSG-Chelsea’s 5-2, Pedro Neto shoved a ball boy.

According to L'Équipe, the LFP’s Article 534 sets strict guidelines. The home club appoints FFF-licensed ball boys, with 10 to 16 at pitchside, all at least 13 and in place 90 minutes before kick-off.

They get a changing room, regulation kit and a briefing validated by delegates. Instructions include vigilance, no phones or autograph requests, plus set positions around goals, corners and benches. Most use the classic one-per-ball system, though some test plinths for self-service.

Unforeseen incidents occur. Staff have moved ball boys when flares were lit, one youngster nearly got burned and another fainted, with a replacement ready. Gamesmanship appears too, a goalkeeper once kicked away returns until three balls were on the pitch, and in 2016 referee Alexandre Castro asked that two slow ball boys be replaced, since officials cannot exclude them.

Ball boys can also tilt matches. In 2019, Oakley Cannonier’s speed enabled Trent Alexander-Arnold’s quick corner for Divock Origi as Liverpool overturned Barcelona 4-0 after a 0-3 first leg, and Callum Hynes hurried a throw-in that helped Tottenham beat Olympiakos 4-2. Recently, Bosnian teenager Afan Cizmic hid Gianluigi Donnarumma’s penalty notes during a play-off final, later saying he recognised and concealed them, and the keeper saved none.

Source: L'Équipe