Bournemouth ball boy removed from duties after clashing with Tottenham's Lucas Moura

Posted Sunday, October 30, 2022 by Dailystar.co.uk

Lucas Moura's altercation with a Bournemouth ballboy saw Jaidon Anthony get involved

A Bournemouth ball boy was escorted away by stewards after an altercation with Tottenham star Lucas Moura on Saturday.

The flashpoint occurred in the second-half with Spurs chasing a winner against the Cherries, who had gone 2-0 up earlier in the contest. After the ball trickled out of play, one of the ball boys on the side of the pitch picked it up.

But rather than handing it back to the Tottenham players, there was a momentary tussle between him and Moura as the Brazilian tried to get play back underway quickly. It led to uproar from the fans while Bournemouth star Jaidon Anthony rushed over the confront the Spurs winger.

The referee rushed over to calm the situation down while Eric Dier remonstrated with the officials over the delay to play. However, Tottenham had the last laugh as the ball boy was escorted away from the touchline and down the tunnel by a steward.

Spurs went on to win the contest 3-2 after Rodrigo Bentancur netted in the 92nd minute to send the away fans into a frenzy. After a tough week, this was the perfect antidote - though Antonio Conte was less than pleased with the manner in which his side had gone two goals down.

“We had to show more personality,” he said. “In the second half we started to play with a desire to hurt the opponent. To be more nasty. I have seen in the eyes of my players they decide to win.”

After having a late goal ruled out against Sporting in the Champions League, there were fears that history could repeat itself and Conte walked down the tunnel after Bentancur's strike before reappearing for the final minutes.

He said after the match: "I came back when I knew that the goal was regular. I thought in my mind and my heart if something happens then I can have a heart attack, because in two days to score and then to be disallowed I said, I go down [the tunnel]."