West Ham fan reaches out to Palace ball boy after celebration crush

A fan who fell on top of the Crystal Palace ball boy as West Ham fans celebrated a goal is trying to reach the lad and invite him to the London Stadium.

Jack Levin, who was celebrating his 62nd birthday, plunged forward bringing down an LED advertising board on the child as other fans also got caught in the crush.

Mr Levin, a legal costs official, was seen by millions of Match of the Day viewers, falling onto the hoarding which then fell onto the boy before goal scorer Tomas Soucek came to his rescue.

Mr Levin, of Essex, said he suffered an injury to his ankle and grazed his knees in the crush which happened as West Ham took the lead in the 67th minute.

As he got back to his feet, Mr Levin tried to reach out to the trapped boy which also saw Brazilian star Lucas Paquetá caught in the melee.

‘I was pushed from behind by other fans who were falling forward and I tried to steady myself by putting my hands on the hoarding, but it gave way.

‘As I got back to my feet, I was going to help the boy and saw that Soucek had come to his aid.’

Part of the screen fell on top of a Crystal Palace ball boy, whose clothes appeared to get stuck to it.

Sensing the danger, Soucek swiftly abandoned his celebration and used his strength to free the boy, who was then helped to his feet by Jarrod Bowen.

Mr Lewin added: ‘My ankle was in pain for about 10 minutes. But I am okay now. But I’m more glad that the lad is okay and for the chivalrous way the players responded and forgot about celebrating immediately.

‘Lucas was on his back and unaware of what it happened around him. But the players were brilliant with the boy.

‘It just shows you that despite what people say about them being rich and out of touch, they are decent humans like most would be in that type of situation.

‘if Tomas hadn’t got him out, he could’ve been badly injured and thank God that he wasn’t My friends who were with me were very concerned about him too.

‘I saw that Tomas and Jarrod Bowen and some of the other players were looking after him. But the lad looked quite shocked and upset.

‘I am sorry for what he went through. It was nobody’s fault really. There was a gate that gave way on the advertising boards first and then people fell on top of each other and I was shoved into it too with the LED board breaking.

‘I am getting in touch with Crystal Palace to see if I can speak to the boy’s parents and get him to come to West Ham as a guest for the return fixture later in the season.’

He added: ‘My daughter Cara would have been with me. But she found out a few weeks ago that she is expecting her first child and decided not to come to games while she is pregnant.

‘It would have been very worrying if she had been there in the crush.’

‘Overall, it was a great day. We won . . . although my friend’s wife made me wear a “Birthday Boy” badge for the match which was quite funny as I am 62!’

Bowen and the ball boy shared a hug, before Soucek also checked on him.

The boy was visibly shaken before being led away by stadium security staff.

Bowen later scored the second goal of the game to help the Hammers record their first win under new manager Julen Lopetegui.

Fans on social media were quick to praise Soucek for his actions.

One tweeted: ‘Soucek is an absolute hero for saving that ballboy from getting crushed’.

Another wrote: ‘Tomas Soucek. Goal scorer. Hero’.

A third message read: ‘Kudos to Tommy Soucek for spotting the danger as a ball boy fell under the advertising barrier, while West Ham celebrated the second goal.’

After the game, Bowen gave his shirt to the ball boy.

Recalling the incident that saw he and Soucek come to the boy’s aid, Bowen said: ‘I just managed to grab him out as quick as possible, it was just instinct. He’s all good which is good to see.’