Has a ballboy ever been sent off?

[AreliusIII]

Look no further than Real Betis's recent La Liga game at home to Atlético Madrid. With Betis clinging to a 1-0 advantage as the game entered six minutes of added-time, referee Miguel Ángel Ayza Gámez became incensed by the ballboys refusing to return the ball (allegedly following orders from club officials). After the Atlético players complained, Ayza Gámez's patience eventually wilted, brandishing red cards to all 14 of them. It does appear that Betis have done this previously, though. Following Chelsea's 1-0 Champions League defeat at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera earlier this season, Jose Mourinho claimed that strange things began happening once his side fell behind. "The ballboys disappeared, making it very difficult for us," he said.

But these are not the only cases of badly-behaved youngsters. In 2001, a Ghanaian touchline helper ran on during a game to attack the referee, while a pint-sized pitchside pest provoked Malaga defender Vicente Valcarce into hitting him in the same year. When he was in charge of Brazil, Luis Felipe Scolari was known to order ballboys to throw spare balls on to the pitch when his side held a narrow lead late in the game. And while the Knowledge can't find any official confirmation of the incident, it is believed a ballboy was sent off during a game between Bristol City and Notts County at Ashton Gate several years ago, when he cheekily began offering one of the visiting players some 'words of wisdom'.