With Chelsea trailing two-four in injury time, the ball went out of bounds, and Neto rushed to retrieve a new ball from a ball boy. However, the boy hesitated to hand the ball directly to the Portuguese forward, even making a motion as if to throw it elsewhere.

Eager to get the ball back into play, Neto pushed the boy, causing him to fall to the ground with a pained expression. The 26-year-old player's action sparked a chaotic scene, as players from both teams rushed in to argue.

Neto pushes the ball boy near the end of Chelsea's 5-2 loss to PSG in the Champions League round of 16 first leg at Parc des Princes, Paris on 11/3. *Screenshot*

After order was restored, referee Alejandro Jose Hernandez spoke with Neto, as well as the two captains, Reece James and Marquinhos, before allowing the game to continue. Despite a VAR review, Neto received no card.

Commenting live on TNT Sports, former player Glenn Hoddle defended Neto. "He did push, but that's because the ball boy wouldn't give the ball and looked like he wanted to throw it elsewhere," he said. "In the player's defense, it was the final minutes of the match. Neto wanted the game to continue, while the kid was deliberately stalling. It was just a slight nudge."

Hoddle added that referee Hernandez made the correct decision by not issuing Neto a card after VAR intervention. "If the ball boy had done nothing and was pushed, that would be a different story," he emphasized.

The match concluded with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's goal in the final seconds of injury time, sealing a 5-2 victory for PSG. Immediately after the final whistle, Neto sought out the ball boy, hugged him, and gave him his jersey as a gesture of apology and reconciliation.

In an interview with TNT Sports, the Chelsea forward expressed regret for his actions in the heat of the moment. "I want to publicly apologize to the ball boy for the incident on the field," Neto stated. "I have already spoken with him. Due to a burst of emotion with our team losing, I was too eager to get the ball. He held onto it a bit long, so I gave him a light push. I realized I hurt him."

"I am not that kind of person. It was just an uncontrolled action in a moment of haste. I am truly sorry and want to once again extend my sincerest apologies to him," the 26-year-old player emphasized.

Neto gives his jersey to the ball boy as an apology and to make amends after the match. *X / Football on TNT Sports*

When asked if everything had been resolved, the Portuguese international replied: "I don't understand french, but I tried to apologize about 35 times, and he also smiled, saying something to me when he received the shirt. I think he understood it was just temporary frustration. Vitinha also helped explain that I didn't mean any harm and it was just an accident on the pitch. During the chaos, everyone around was hugging and pulling me, but the only thing I cared about was his condition."

Neto's incident recalls a memory from january 2013, when Chelsea star Eden Hazard caused controversy with a clash involving Charlie Morgan. Morgan, then a Swansea ball boy, deliberately lay on the ball to waste time with his team leading two-zero. Hazard, in anger, kicked the boy, resulting in a direct red card and a three-match ban.

Previously, Neto was charged by the English Football Association (EFA) for improper conduct towards referee Darren England after receiving a red card in a match against Arsenal on 1/3.

Ha Phuong