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Was Marrone completely at fault?

Michael Marrone of United celebrates with his teammates. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
Roar Rookie
22nd November, 2017
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Sporting fans around the country are horrified after the Westfield FFA Cup. Many of these fans have never watched a football match in their lives.

In what was arguably the best Westfield FFA Cup final in it’s short history, Sydney FC’s extra-time win over Adelaide United was marred by an incident involving the Reds’ Michael Marrone.

Now known as ‘the ball boy pusher’, Marrone was sent off in the second half of extra-time on Tuesday night in Sydney.

Marrone has been slammed from all corners of the country with Today Show co-host Karl Stefanovic even weighing in, suggesting the Adelaide right-back should be banned for months.

United coach Marco Kurz apologised post-match to the ball boy and his father but reiterated that this isn’t in Marrone’s nature.

‘Mickey is a quiet boy’, he said.

‘I can only say Mickey is very down in the dressing room and I think he spoke with the boy after the game.’

Michael Marrone Adelaide United Football FFA Cup 2017

(Photo by Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)

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Marrone did react in the wrong way no doubt, but if we look at the video footage closely, a few things appear that the FFA must take into consideration when handing out any suspensions.

Instead of rolling the ball to the defender, the ball boy refuses to in an attempt to waste time, resulting in Marrone moving forward to get the ball off him.

As he reaches in to take the ball, the youngster turns his back to Marrone, leading to the child falling over.

‘Player-ball boy’ issues aren’t new to the football world, with Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard getting muddled up with one in 2013.

Hazard’s confrontation seemed worse, where he even kicked the ball boy, coming away with a three-match ban from the incident.

When looking at ‘the ball boy pusher’s’ past, he has an almost impeccable record as a defender.

According to renowned German transfer website transfermarkt.com, in close to 200 professional games, Marrone has picked up 27 yellow cards and only one red.

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These statistics speak enough about who the right-back is and is one that very rarely is seen making any untoward scenes or problems on the football pitch.

Hopefully the FFA looks at all aspects of this incident and does not fall to media pressure on a ‘lengthy’ ban.

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