Swansea’s progress to the final of the League Cup was overshadowed by a bizarre sending-off of Chelsea star Eden Hazard on Wednesday following an off-the-pitch incident involving a ball boy.
A miserable night for the European champions at Liberty Stadium was sealed when Hazard was shown a red card for kicking the ball boy in the ribs while attempting to retrieve the ball in the 79th minute, with Chelsea needing two goals to force extra time in the second leg of the semifinal.
The match finished 0-0, with Swansea winning 2-0 on aggregate and advancing to its first major cup final. The team will play fourth-tier Bradford City in an unlikely lineup for the showpiece at Wembley Stadium.
Hazard and the 17-year-old ball boy, who appeared to be deliberately not returning the ball to the Belgium international to waste time, have apologised to each other. They were both spoken to by police and Britain’s Press Association said Swansea has confirmed charges will not be pressed against Hazard.
“The ball boy should have let the ball go, but he was pushed first and then he kicks him,” Swansea manager Michael Laudrup said. “As a player when you are behind, your pulse is very high and sometimes you say and do things. You overreact. But there are some things you cannot do.”
Hazard’s actions overshadowed one of the biggest nights in the 100-year history of Swansea, a Welsh club which plays in the English Premier League and is coached by one of Europe’s great players from the 1980s.
