Cheered in front of child – “disgusting”
Coventry coach draws ire after sensation
March 17, 2024, 12:20 a.m
Mark Robins celebrates a big win in the FA Cup with second division club Coventry City. The final phase is wild, Coventry switches between heaven and hell within a few minutes. But the English football coach goes too far in cheering. The apology comes promptly.
Football coach Mark Robins quickly regretted this celebratory gesture. In itself, his emotional outburst after the English second division club Coventry City’s sensational advance to the semi-finals of the prestigious FA Cup against Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers was understandable and nothing special. But the 54-year-old targeted a ball boy during his wild celebration because he had previously upset him. Robins walked towards the 13-year-old with his arms raised, cheered directly in front of him, and shortly afterwards turned around again and showed his clenched victorious fist again in the direction of the ball boy – a Wanderers fan.
Robins apologized for his behavior at the press conference after the game on Saturday evening. “We scored the goal, I went and celebrated in front of him. I apologize to him unreservedly. I don’t show emotions often. But that’s what the FA Cup does to you,” Robins said. The ball boy annoyed him before the late goal by dropping the ball in front of him and running away smiling, said the former professional footballer. “It really annoyed me. But he’s a kid.”
“The boy is really upset”
The underdog initially took the lead through Ellis Simms (53′) and sniffed victory until shortly before the end. Then Rayan Ait Nouri (83′) and Hugo Bueno (88′) turned the game in Wolves’ favor. Well into stoppage time, the cheering in the Molineux Stadium suddenly fell silent. Simms (90+7) scored his second goal before Haji Wright (90+10) shot his team into the last four. Wanderers manager Gary O’Neil found Robins’ behavior more than questionable. “He apologized. But celebrating in a little boy’s face like that was disgusting to me. The boy is really upset. Something like that shouldn’t happen.”
Manchester City had also reached the semi-finals later in the day. Pep Guardiola’s team easily won 2-0 (2-0) against Newcastle United in the world’s oldest football competition and will play on the 20th/21st. April at Wembley Stadium in London for a place in the final. Even without playmaker Kevin De Bruyne in the stands, the Cityzens dominated the match from the start. However, the guests helped with the goals. City professional Bernardo Silva scored with a deflected shot to make it 1-0 (13th minute). After almost half an hour, another Newcastle professional directed the attacking midfielder’s attempt into his own net.
Superstar Erling Haaland remained unlucky after the break despite good opportunities. After City keeper Ederson was injured in the Liverpool game (1-1), former Bielefeld goalkeeper Stefan Ortega was in goal and remained error-free for over 90 minutes. Newcastle will most likely not be represented internationally next season due to the cup exit.