FA view on the Ballboy incident

[Snake]

Just because it was the Red Filth doesn't excuse the behaviour.

Yes it does!

Seconded. And we may still have to play Them again in the play-offs.

[SmileyMan]

Just because it was the Red Filth doesn't excuse the behaviour.

Yes it does!

Seconded. And we may still have to play Them again in the play-offs.

So the ideal is a protracted investigation followed by a three match ban imposed the day after the last game of the regular season?

[Hog]

Ritchie was entitled to the ball and the ballboy should have released it.

Sorry, but IMHO that is total guff. The ball had gone out for a goal kick and Ritchie had no claim to the ball whatsoever.

If the referee felt that the ballboys were deliberately slowing the game down, then he could have taken action to address this - as I've seen them do on other occasions over the years (and even taken towels off them at Cambridge!). And, to be honest, I don't think they were being THAT slow in returning the ball. [Agree that the crowd holding on to the ball was pathetic though].

And just because he subsequently apologised, I don't see how that absolves Ritchie. Strip away the foliage and he assaulted a child, plain and simple. As SmileyMan says, I don't understand how the referee (if he saw the actual incident) could view this as anything other than violent conduct hence my email to the FA.

Their response hasn't answered the two key elements here: did the referee actually see the altercation with the ballboy and, if so, how is it not violent conduct?

The only thing that is total guff is the way this stupid situation has been exaggerated out of all proportion!

There is so much I would like to say but I won't as I'm within a year (as of today as it happens!) of my public sector pension!

Except to say that the ball boy wouldn't have been a 'hero' if Slumdon had scored during the 10 minutes of added time to take points off us.

And thank goodness no smart talking lawyer has started TechnicalMinorAssaultsOnChildrenAreUs (yet!). Violent conduct akin to the Eric Cantona incident my arse!

If it had been any team other than you-know-who then it would all have been forgotten by now. Or, more likely, wouldn't have happened in the first place.

Embarrassing.

[GodalmingYellow]

Ritchie was entitled to the ball and the ballboy should have released it.

Sorry, but IMHO that is total guff. The ball had gone out for a goal kick and Ritchie had no claim to the ball whatsoever.

If the referee felt that the ballboys were deliberately slowing the game down, then he could have taken action to address this - as I've seen them do on other occasions over the years (and even taken towels off them at Cambridge!). And, to be honest, I don't think they were being THAT slow in returning the ball. [Agree that the crowd holding on to the ball was pathetic though].

And just because he subsequently apologised, I don't see how that absolves Ritchie. Strip away the foliage and he assaulted a child, plain and simple. As SmileyMan says, I don't understand how the referee (if he saw the actual incident) could view this as anything other than violent conduct hence my email to the FA.

Their response hasn't answered the two key elements here: did the referee actually see the altercation with the ballboy and, if so, how is it not violent conduct?

The only thing that is total guff is the way this stupid situation has been exaggerated out of all proportion!

There is so much I would like to say but I won't as I'm within a year (as of today as it happens!) of my public sector pension!

Except to say that the ball boy wouldn't have been a 'hero' if s*****n had scored during the 10 minutes of added time to take points off us.

And thank goodness no smart talking lawyer has started TechnicalMinorAssaultsOnChildrenAreUs (yet!). Violent conduct akin to the Eric Cantona incident my arse!

If it had been any team other than you-know-who then it would all have been forgotten by now. Or, more likely, wouldn't have happened in the first place.

Embarrassing.

So you are telling me that if I push a 14 year old boy I won't be arrested for assault, let alone the impact that this would have on my ability to have a clear CRB and lead my local Scouts group of boys aged 10.5 to 14?

I think that be nonsense young man.

Assault doesn't even have to involve physical contact as you will well know.

That the ballboy may not have suffered physical injury is irrelevant. In a civilised society we can't have grown men using physical force on a child. That is just wrong.

You might not like the law, but the law is not decided by you. It is decided by Government responsible to a wider society. And that is the law which must be implemented.

If it had been against any other team, I would say exactly the same thing.

Is it an offence not to report an apparent breach of the law? Genuine question.

[recordmeister]

Sorry, but IMHO that is total guff. The ball had gone out for a goal kick and Ritchie had no claim to the ball whatsoever.

If the referee felt that the ballboys were deliberately slowing the game down, then he could have taken action to address this - as I've seen them do on other occasions over the years (and even taken towels off them at Cambridge!). And, to be honest, I don't think they were being THAT slow in returning the ball. [Agree that the crowd holding on to the ball was pathetic though].

And just because he subsequently apologised, I don't see how that absolves Ritchie. Strip away the foliage and he assaulted a child, plain and simple. As SmileyMan says, I don't understand how the referee (if he saw the actual incident) could view this as anything other than violent conduct hence my email to the FA.

Their response hasn't answered the two key elements here: did the referee actually see the altercation with the ballboy and, if so, how is it not violent conduct?

The only thing that is total guff is the way this stupid situation has been exaggerated out of all proportion!

There is so much I would like to say but I won't as I'm within a year (as of today as it happens!) of my public sector pension!

Except to say that the ball boy wouldn't have been a 'hero' if s*****n had scored during the 10 minutes of added time to take points off us.

And thank goodness no smart talking lawyer has started TechnicalMinorAssaultsOnChildrenAreUs (yet!). Violent conduct akin to the Eric Cantona incident my arse!

If it had been any team other than you-know-who then it would all have been forgotten by now. Or, more likely, wouldn't have happened in the first place.

Embarrassing.

So you are telling me that if I push a 14 year old boy I won't be arrested for assault, let alone the impact that this would have on my ability to have a clear CRB and lead my local Scouts group of boys aged 10.5 to 14?

I think that be nonsense young man.

Assault doesn't even have to involve physical contact as you will well know.

That the ballboy may not have suffered physical injury is irrelevant. In a civilised society we can't have grown men using physical force on a child. That is just wrong.

You might not like the law, but the law is not decided by you. It is decided by Government responsible to a wider society. And that is the law which must be implemented.

If it had been against any other team, I would say exactly the same thing.

Is it an offence not to report an apparent breach of the law? Genuine question.

Ahh... A clear crb check. Doesn't make any difference if you want to end up manager of oxford United, just ask rix...

Q. &quotDo you wanna be in my gang?&quot
A. Not really, Gary.

[Myles Francis]

Well, at the third time of asking the FA have finally confirmed that the booking was a) solely for the altercation with the ballboy and b) was for &quotunsporting conduct&quot.

And presumably a police officer who sees a grown man pushing and kicking a 16yo boy as a merely &quotTechnical minor assault&quot would never stoop so low as to nick someone under section 5 for using some fruity language

[SmileyMan]

I suggest Ritchie immediately stand as an MP. He's clearly already got the necessary 'above the law' attributes.

[Beach Road End]

Ball boy was a disgrace in my opinion. I want to beat the scum more than anything but it is unacceptable for employees or representatives of the club (which ball boys are) to engage in petty and petulant cheating. Club should get rid. Embarrassing for the club and fans that think a push warrants emails to the FA need to look at themselves.

[Baboo]

Ball boy was a disgrace in my opinion. I want to beat the scum more than anything but it is unacceptable for employees or representatives of the club (which ball boys are) to engage in petty and petulant cheating. Club should get rid. Embarrassing for the club and fans that think a push warrants emails to the FA need to look at themselves.

Agree. Whole thing has been quite pathetic imho. We won. Can't we just do it in a dignified way. If the boot had been on the other foot and that had been a STFC ball boy hanging on to the ball I would be livid.

[GodalmingYellow]

I repeat what I've said earlier, yes the ball boy acted poorly, but that is no excuse for physical assault by a grown man upon a child.

I suspect most of those saying it was nothing don't have children.

Imagine if it was your child being pushed by a grown man in the park or in the street.

Those who defend the status quo need to take a long hard look at themselves. Some people seem to think a society based on getting your way by physical force is acceptable. I think that is grotesque and I think the vast majority of people would agree.

[Baboo]

My kid is now grown up. Hardly much force involved. A big storm in a tea cup. Amazing how some things get blown up out of all proportion. What injuries has this lad suffered. None.

[GodalmingYellow]

My kid is now grown up. Hardly much force involved. A big storm in a tea cup. Amazing how some things get blown up out of all proportion. What injuries has this lad suffered. None.

Assault isn't about injury. It is about inappropriate use of force or aggression or causing someone to fear inappropriate force or aggression. As I've said before, assault doesn't even need physical contact to be an offence. Use of threatening or abusive language also be assault.

Where there is intentional physical contact, the crime is assault and battery.

Where there is injury, the crime is assault and battery causing actual bodily harm.

This case has not been blown up out of proportion. There appear to be some who believe that physical aggression towards a child is acceptable. It isn't. Not ever. We don't live in Dickensian times any more thankfully and there are plenty of good reasons why.

[pottersrightboot]

My kid is now grown up. Hardly much force involved. A big storm in a tea cup. Amazing how some things get blown up out of all proportion. What injuries has this lad suffered. None.

Agree. The whole 'issue' is a load of baloney. See you tomorrow.

Please don't moan at tomorrow's referee too much

[Myles Francis]

Right, for a bit of clarification, the reason for my approach to the FA was simply to find out what Ritchie had actually been cautioned for. It's a slightly different split on here, but the vast majority of people I spoke to on the day were of the opinion that if the referee had seen the altercation there was no other option than a red card. It was violent conduct, pure and simple. My perception of the incident was that the ref hadn't seen it - he'd only picked up on the afters with Duberry and Wright(?). It wasn't an attempt to inflame the incident or drag it out further. I was genuinely interested to find out what the referee thought he had seen and what Ritchie was cautioned for.

Having said that, I'm truly astonished by the number of people on here (and bear in mind this is one of the more &quothigh brow&quot football forums) who witness a grown man assault a child in such a volatile atmosphere and think it no big deal at all. No, it wasn't a mass murder, but come on - if your child were a ballboy and one of the players shoved and kicked him, you'd be perfectly ok with that?

[slappy]

A few years ago we were at Barrow on a Tuesday night (!) The FA Cup replay. Apparently Constable had an altercation with one of their ball-boys, grabbing the ball off him, and was screaming to &quotgive me the *** ball&quot. The Barrow fans message board (including the father) were having a discussion about it. I think the father's view was he was proud he had brought his son up to know to wind up the opposition players, whereas another group of fans were intent on branding Constable a nasty piece of work and pressing charges etc.

I think that the heat of the moment on a football pitch is different to the same action out in public (despite what the law might say). The OUFC ballboy was I think a grown teenager (youth team?) rather than a 10 year-old, and would or should have known that to deliberately withhold the ball to waste time was unsporting behaviour. If an Oxford player had kicked the ball away or refused to give it back for an opposition free kick he would have been booked.