Coventry manager criticized for jeering at ball boy

A soccer manager in England was slammed by a rival coach for celebrating in the face of a 13-year-old ball boy after a late winning goal in a thrilling FA Cup quarterfinal match on Saturday.

After his team scored in the 10th minute of stoppage time to secure a 3-2 victory over Wolverhampton, Coventry manager Mark Robins ran over to the ball boy and crouched toward him before later aiming a fist pump in his direction.

Robins offered an unprompted apology for his behaviour in his postmatch news conference, saying the ball boy had annoyed him before the late goal by dropping the ball in front of him and walking away with a smile on his face.

“He's a kid, at the end of the day,” Robins said. “I have reacted. We scored the goal and I went and celebrated in front of him.

“I apologize to him ... I don't show emotion very often, but that is what the FA Cup does to you. I apologize to him unreservedly.”

Wolves manager Gary O'neil said Robins' conduct was “disgusting.”

“I was disappointed,” O'neil said. “I waited for Mark downstairs and spoke to him because I was really respectful at the end, having lost a massive game, waited for them to finish their celebrations, shook everyone's hands, congratulated them on a real good performance, reaching Wembley and what a fantastic achievement it was.

“And he apologized. But to celebrate in a young boy's face like that I thought was disgusting. The boy is really upset. It shouldn't happen, but I don't have too much to say about it because we have lost and it's going to seem bitter. But I thought it was really important to speak to Mark about it because they are just kids doing a job.”