Opinion divided over FFA Cup final ball boy bust-up

A “SHOCKING” incident involving a ball boy and an A-League star in the FFA Cup final has divided the nation.

IT’S been described as a “disgrace” by Today host Karl Stefanovic — but also an incident with “nothing in it” by Socceroos star Trent Sainsbury.

The FFA Cup final’s ball boy bust-up has divided a nation.

An extra-time classic between Sydney FC and Adelaide United in the harbour city — which the Sky Blues won 2-1 — descended into chaos when Reds star Michael Marrone was given a straight red card for tackling a ball boy.

Deep into the second period of extra time with Sydney leading 2-1 thanks to a goal to Bobo in the 111th minute, Marrone rushed in to grab the ball off the young boy when his side had a throw-in near the halfway line with five minutes left to play.

Marrone was angrily challenged by Sydney FC substitute Matt Simon, who ran in and shoved Marrone away from the ball boy. Players from the visitors’ bench ran over to protect their teammate as an ugly melee spilled over into the Allianz Stadium tunnel before Marrone was sent from the field.

Here’s all the reaction to the match’s biggest talking point.

BUST-UP A ‘DISGRACE’

Free for all after ball boy tackled in FFA Cup final.

The collision knocked the ball boy to the ground and was described as a “disgrace” by Today host Karl Stefanovic on Channel Nine on Wednesday morning.

“That ball boy incident is ugly,” Stefanovic said. “That player needs to be gone. I don’t know what penalty they can hand out (but it needs to be the) most severe penalty to send a clear message. (It’s a) shocking incident.”

Channel Nine sports presenter Tim Gilbert responded to Stefanovic’s comments by saying Marrone’s treatment of the youngster sends the wrong message to kids in sport.

“That ball boy — how does he feel now? Does he want to go back and be there? Does he want to be a part of it?” Gilbert said. “That’s the wrong message to send to any young person involved in any sport.”

Former Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Bosnich said the ball boy should have handed Marrone the ball straight away, but declared there was still “no excuse” for the 30-year-old’s reaction.

“There’s no excuse ... You should never ever do something like that to a ball boy,” Bosnich told Fox Sports.

“But one must say the ball boy did turn away from Marrone rather than just throwing him the ball.

“The lesson is throw the ball back to him. That’s it.”

Sydney FC midfielder Michael Zullo said Marrone would regret his “brain explosion” but defended his character.

“Micky Marrone is a good person. That’s all I can say. He played at Adelaide and it’s not in his nature at all,” Zullo said after the game. “He had a brain explosion. It’s a grand final. He’s a good person and I think he’s going to regret his actions.”

PEACOCK: ‘THREE WEEKS IS FAIR’

Fox Sports football commentator Adam Peacock agreed Marrone deserved a red card.

Adelaide coach Marco Kurz apologised to the ball boy in a post-match interview.

“I said sorry to the boy and his Dad — what happened was not in the character of Mickey, he is a very quiet boy,” Kurz said. “In this moment we can only say sorry. Mickey is very down, I think he spoke with the boy.”

MARRONE NOT THE ONLY ONE AT FAULT

Not everyone was so scathing of Marrone for his rush of blood, putting equal parts blame on the ball boy.

Some believed the ball boy exaggerated the impact of Marrone’s contact, suggesting he may have taken a leaf out of the players’ book by taking a dive to slow the game down even further.

Socceroos defender Trent Sainsbury joked about the ball boy’s role in the scuffle and said there was “nothing in it”.

Although Simon was first to react to Marrone’s actions, he had cooled down after the game and put his opponent’s act down to the pressure of playing in such an important contest.

“We know Mike. He hasn’t got that in him. It was a heat of the moment thing on the sideline,” Simon told Fox Sports.

“It was a bit of a scuffle but at the end of the day, I don’t think anything too serious ... I don’t think there’s too much in it. Those things happen in the heat of the moment. We’ll just enjoy the win and move on.”

Fox Sports football caller Brenton Speed said things escalated because of the ball boy’s “delaying tactic” and cast doubt on whether the offence warranted a straight red.

HAPPY ENDING TO SOUR NIGHT

The ball boy appeared shaken after the scuffle but his night ended on a happy note when the Sydney players invited him on the dais to take part in their celebrations.

Zullo put his winner’s medal around the youngster’s neck and Simon let him hold up the trophy as the men in blue savoured the cheers from the home crowd.

“We got him up because he put his body on the line for the club,” Zullo joked.

Originally published as Opinion divided over FFA Cup final ball boy bust-up