Jack Grealish ‘mugged off’ by Spurs ball boy who leaves Man City star fuming

On Feb 5, 2023

A Tottenham ball boy has been dubbed ‘Man of the Match’ after winding up Jack Grealish to leave him furious during their win over Manchester City.

Grealish was arguably City’s best player as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Spurs on Sunday, as Pep Guardiola’s side missed a glaring opportunity to gain ground on Premier League leaders Arsenal. Harry Kane’s first-half goal proved to be the winner and saw him break Tottenham’s record to become their all-time top goalscorer ahead of Jimmy Greaves.

City tried desperately to find an equaliser, with Riyad Mahrez crashing a left-foot effort off the crossbar. Grealish did his best to drive his side on, but as the clock ticked down, he was left irate at the actions of a cheeky ball boy.

The ball had gone out of play with around five minutes remaining and was collected by the young lad who was helping to patrol the pitch perimeter. Grealish walked towards him to collect the ball, but as he did so, the ball boy threw it in the opposite direction, much to the Man City midfielder’s frustration.

Tottenham fans naturally loved the exchange and many took to social media to herald their new hero. “Can’t believe Grealish just got mugged off by a ball boy,” one wrote, as another said: “ Ball boy mugging off Grealish. Lovely stuff. Laugh how footballers spend their lives cheating and wasting time but p*** and moan when they get it back.”

Other comments rolled in as one user laughed at Grealish “getting cooked”, while others praised the ball boy for “s***housing” the £100million star. “Man of the match, Tottenham ball boy mugging of Grealish,” another fan said.

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Grealish was arguably City’s best player but couldn’t help his side avoid defeat
(Image: Manchester City FC via Getty Ima)

One fan was angry that the ball boy’s actions were not penalised, however, as they tweeted: “@Premier League @FA need to get clubs to stop/ban ball boys/girls who hold on to the ball, then throw it away from the opposition player. Disgraceful such as what the ball boy did to Grealish. If a player reacts, he’s [sic] be punished.”

Even a late red card for Tottenham’s Cristian Romero did not alter the end result as the hosts moved one point off the top four behind Newcastle, while City remain five points off leaders Arsenal who have a game in hand.

It’s not the first time a ball boy has played a small role in a Spurs victory. Back in 2019, a quick-thinking ball boy earned a high five and a hug from then-Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho after he rushed to get a ball back to a Spurs player, whose quick throw resulted in a goal for Kane against Olympiakos.