The multiball system in football permits a match immediately to resume with another ball when the original match ball goes out of play. The International Football Association Board laws of the game were changed for the 2006/2007 edition to make it legal to use more than a single ball per game.
Traditionally, professional football matches employ the use of a single ball, and when the ball leaves the field of play, the game pauses until the ball is returned. According to the Laws of the Game, the ball may be changed on the "authority of the referee" if it "bursts or becomes defective",[1] though typically it will also be replaced if kicked out of the stadium.
However, a new system was introduced by some football leagues and associations to increase the number of match balls used per game.[2] In the multiball system, a number of match balls, often seven,[3] are held by ball boys around the edge of the pitch. When one ball leaves the field of play, the nearest ball boy will release another ball to a player, allowing the game to resume immediately. The system is currently used for UEFA European club tournaments, international competitions and the FIFA World Cup. Home teams are free to choose whether to use the system in the English Football League,[2] [4] though the referee may discontinue the system during a match. The use of multiple balls and ball-boys has become common within organised football, with the ball-boys often drawn from the junior sides of the home side.[5]
| Nation | Competition | Multiball system | Single match ball | Optional | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | Premier League | ||||
| England | Football League | ||||
| England | FA Cup | ||||
| England | EFL Cup | ||||
| UEFA | UEFA European Championship | ||||
| UEFA | UEFA Champions League | ||||
| UEFA | UEFA Europa League |
While some commentators and managers support the system for maintaining the speed and flow of the game, others suggest that the way the system is implemented favours the home team.[2] [5] [6] In 2005 Gary Megson, then manager of Nottingham Forest F.C., was cited in a referee's match report after his team scored, prompting "the supply of balls around the pitch to dry up".[7] Ian Holloway claims that, when playing at other stadia, ball boys often delay providing balls to his players, but that "when it is the other way around the ball boys cannot get the ball to their own players fast enough".[4] [8]
Due to the fast paced nature of modern football, when a multiball system is in place it can be frustrating for players when the ballboys do not quickly respond as required to the need for a ball, which can occur with the ballboy is affiliated with home side while the result is going their way. In 2013 Eden Hazard was sent off against Swansea after an altercation with 17 year old ball boy Charlie Morgan, who was the son of one of the Directors of Swansea. After the ball rolled away for a goal kick, Morgan grabbed the ball away from Hazard who wished to return it to the Swansea goalkeeper, then fell on it, trapping it underneath him and delaying the restart. In frustration Hazard kicked the ball out from under Morgan and received a red card shortly after while Morgan walked off holding his midriff in apparent injury. Hazard received a 3 game ban, Swansea held on to their result to qualify for the final and win it 5-0 against Bradford City, their first and only major trophy within the English football system.[9]
The Australian 2017 FFA Cup final was held at the home ground of Sydney FC but under the organisation of the neutral Football Federation Australia, with ball boys were wearing neutral FFA jackets. Despite this supposed neutrality, late in extra time with Adelaide United down by a goal a ball boy on the halfway line refused to hand a ball to Adelaide player Michael Marrone. When Marrone grabbed for the ball the ballboy turned away and dramatically fell to the ground feigning an injury. This lead Sydney FC's Matt Simon to charge at Marrone and sparked a wild sideline confrontation between the players, coaching staff and unused substitutes. Marrone was red carded and subsequently given a four game ban, Matt Simon was not yellow carded despite his obvious breach of the rules and was ineligible for any further punishment. After Sydney FC won the game, the ball boy was gifted Michael Zullo's winners medal by the player, and allowed to celebrate with the players as they lifted the trophy.[10]
On 26 December 2023, while playing away at Bournemouth, the Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno pushed a Bournemouth ballboy in frustration while taking the football from him after it went out of play. The referee, Tim Robinson, asked for the Bournemouth stadium ballboys to retire from their duties, resulting in the cancellation of the multiball system for the rest of the match. Leno apologised to the boy during a later break in play.[11]