Footage From New Angle Shows David Moyes Almost Volleyed The Ball At Youngster's Head
Footage from a new angle shows the moment David Moyes volleyed a ball in anger at a young ball boy during West Ham's defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in their Europa League semi-final second leg on Thursday.
Trailing 2-1 from first leg at the London Stadium, West Ham were handed an uphill task in Germany when Aaron Cresswell was shown a straight red card just 19 minutes into the match, shortly before Rafael Borre put Frankfurt 3-1 ahead in the tie.
Tempers flared in the second half and Moyes was shown a red card in the 76th minute after reacting angrily to a ball boy's attempt to delay the game.
Advert
A new angle of the incident shows Moyes asking for the ball from youngster, who eventually throws it to the West Ham manager after a period of hesitation.
Moyes then volleys it back at the ball boy, narrowly missing his head.
It sparked an angry reaction from the Frankfurt bench which resulted in Moyes being shown a straight red card.
Speaking immediately after the match, Moyes told BT Sport: "I kicked a ball back at a ball boy so I apologise for that.
"He threw it very softly at me."
In his post-match news conference, Moyes offered a more tongue-in-cheek apology.
Nå viste svenske Viasat bilder. Moyes er nære å dryle ballen på volley hardt i bakhodet på et barn. For en regelrett skam og absolutt ingenting annet. https://t.co/v8d8Sf7T3Y pic.twitter.com/lxul4bQh0V
— Per-Jarle Heggelund (@heggelund7) May 5, 2022
Another red card for West Ham...
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 5, 2022
This time it's for David Moyes! 😳
The manager smashes the ball back in anger and is sent down the tunnel... #UEL pic.twitter.com/YYTZrqp2dg
"I have to apologise for kicking the ball but the ball boy left it short and it was nicely on the volley for me," he said.
Frankfurt progress to the Europa League final on May 18 where they will face Rangers, who beat RB Leipzig 3-1 at Ibrox to progress with a 3-2 aggregate victory.
West Ham, meanwhile, miss out on what would have been only the third European final in their long history.
But West Ham's captain on the night, Declan Rice, insists the Hammers "will be back".
"The sending off was probably a sending off but some of the other decisions were poor tonight, " said Rice.
'The ball boy left a shot! It was nicely on the volley for me' | David Moyes on red card 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/5ElYiNCRZa
— BeanymanSports (@BeanymanSports) May 5, 2022
"The ref seemed to make every decision go for them. When you have someone against you, you can’t do much.
"Lads in there, myself, we have lost big games but we come off with our chest high. We have given it a go. Nobody expected us to get past Sevilla or Lyon.
"We had a genuine belief in the camp, the fans, even players from other teams, to go out and do it.
"We will be back. I am young, I want more, the lads want more and the club deserves more. I am sure we will be back."
Topics: West Ham United, Football, David Moyes, Europa League, Eintracht Frankfurt
Rory O'Callaghan