Thanks to the antics of Charlie Morgan and Eden Hazard, ball boys are in the news. Normally nameless and faceless to viewers and fans, they rarely garner any notice.

While the debate rages on over how much contact Hazard made with the ball or the boy, and whether there was any justification for the Belgian’s actions, the 17-year-old Swansea ball boy was not the first member of his “profession” to do more than keep the flow of the game going.

Back in 2006 during a minor Brazilian Cup game between Santacruzense and Atletico Sorocaba, a ball boy scored a vital equaliser in the 89 minute. The rules of the game, seemed to have passed the referee by as he ludicrously allowed the goal to stand… 

During a UEFA Cup match between Tottenham and Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta at White Hart Lane, a ball boy got his five minutes of fame. Normally ball boys tamely toss the ball to the approaching player, but the young Spur decided to fling the ball at the Anorthosis player’s midriff. The Cypriot player was not amused – with good reason – although the home crowd saw it in a different light.