The Belgian star said: "The boy put his whole body on to the
ball and I was just trying to kick the ball. I think I kicked the
ball and not the boy. I apologise.
"The ballboy came in the changing room and we had a quick
chat and I apologised and the
boy apologised as well. It is over. Sorry."
The debacle took place when Charlie Morgan, 17, son of Swansea
director Martin, pounced on the ball after it ran out for a Swansea
goal kick in the 78th minute.
Desperate to see play restarted, Hazard ran up to the lad who
seemed to lie on top of the ball.
The midfielder then grappled with Morgan and, after failing to
wrestle the ball from his grasp, appeared to kick him in the
STOMACH, leaving him rolling on the floor in
agony.
With the young lad helped off to receive treatment, referee
Chris Foy had no choice but to show Hazard a straight red card.
In another bizarre twist, Morgan had earlier bragged about his
plans to waste time as a ballboy during the game when he tweeted
just hours before kick-off.
Chelsea showed little sympathy for the lad on their official
Twitter account, tweeting firmly in support of their
player moments after Hazard was sent off.
They wrote: “Has football gone mad? Hazard is sent off for
kicking the ball under a ball boy attempting to smother the ball
rather than return it.”
The club later apologised for their tweet and boss Rafa Benitez
confirmed that Morgan and Hazard had apologised to each other after
the game.
Benitez said: “They both talked. The boy knows he was wasting
time. Hazard was frustrated and trying to get the ball back.
“We can not change the situation. We are disappointed because we
lost a player.
“The best thing for us is to move forward.”
The incident overshadowed a remarkable night for Swansea
who booked their spot in a major final for the first time in the
club's history.
Boss Michael Laudrup said: “We know this is going to take some
of our headlines.
“But we have to try to understand what was going through the
head of the player.
“I was a player and I can understand he was frustrated and
wanted the boy to give him the ball. But there are some things that
you can never do.”
Swansea later announced that South Wales Police had interviewed
Morgan and his father but they had decided not to press further
charges.
