Chelsea under fire after ball boy incident
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Chelsea's Eden Hazard, right, receives a red card from referee Chris Foy for violent conduct, during their English League Cup second leg semi-final soccer match at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea, Wales, on Wednesday, Jan 23, 2013. -- PHOTO: AP
LONDON (AP) - Just when it seemed Chelsea's reputation couldn't sink any lower after a controversy-ridden 2012, along came "Ballboygate".
The Football Association's (FA) disciplinary body is set to open a fresh file on the English club after winger Eden Hazard was sent off for kicking a 17-year-old ball boy while attempting to retrieve the ball toward the end of a League Cup semifinal match against Swansea.
The Belgium winger has apologised to the ball boy - and will not face criminal charges - but will be handed a minimum three-match ban for violent conduct, depriving Chelsea of one of its top players.
The FA, which was reviewing the incident on Thursday, could increase the suspension in "exceptional circumstances".
