The Championship leaders Wolves have confirmed they will be taking no action against a ballboy who became a fan favourite after taking extreme action to retrieve the ball from the opposition during Tuesday’ night’s match with Hull City.
Towards the end of the 2-2 draw with Hull City, 16-year-old Tom Aitchison objected to the way that Hull’s staff and manager Nigel Adkins were taking their time to get the ball back into play, and so rushed up and seized the ball from them. In the process he appeared to give someone a shove, and made a hand gesture.
Absolutely world class from the Wolves Ballboy last night! #WWFC pic.twitter.com/3P4rXWa3zd
— Sunil Patel (@SunilPatel29) April 4, 2018
The Molineux crowd were appreciative, but the ballboy was ordered to leave the pitch after the incident. Some supporters gave him high fives as he walked off. As social media rumours that he had been sacked began to grow, fans rallied around him. Wolves fan Nathon Kerr set up a petition in his name, asking for him to be reinstated, which was quickly signed by over 3,500 fans.
Kerr told reporters: “The kid is a hero and was just showing some passion and after the season we have had that’s what the club has been all about. The response has been amazing and when I woke up this morning I had nearly 1,000 notification on my Facebook page. We all want him to be reinstated as all the fans love what he did. We hope the club sees sense.”
Wolves subsequently denied the ballboy had been sacked contrary to social media rumours. The club’s managing director, Laurie Dalrymple, later tweeted: “To confirm, there have been no staff dismissals following last night’s game.”
To confirm, there have been no staff dismissals following last night’s game. Specifically, all ball crew were invited to report for duty for our next home game, and as is customary, all crew were reminded pre and post game of their role and responsibilities #togetherwearestronger
— Laurie Dalrymple (@LaurieDalrymple) April 4, 2018
Not everybody on social media was impressed with the 16-year-old’s antics though.
Disgusted by the ball boy giving the Hull bench the finger.When are we going to teach our kids to flick the V's in time honoured British fashion?
— gareth ondrak (@HackneyWolves) April 4, 2018
