MARK Robins has apologised to a ball boy after celebrating in front of him following Coventry City’s dramatic late winner against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Robins, who rarely shows emotion on the touchline, celebrated Haji Wright’s 100th-minute winner in front of the ball boy after taking exception to the 13-year-old’s actions earlier in the game.
And Robins was quick to offer an apology after the game after admitting he allowed his emotions to get the better of him.
Robins said: “I have an apology to make, before the goal, the ball boy has the ball, he’s a young kid so I’m apologising to him.
“He’s got the ball in his hand, drops the ball and walks away smiling, it really annoyed me but he’s a kid.
“I’ve reacted, we scored the goal and I’ve gone and celebrated in front of him, I apologised to him, I do not show emotion very often but I apologise unreservedly to him.”
Wolves manager Gary O’Neil labelled Robins’ celebration ‘disgusting’ and spoke to the Coventry boss about the incident following the conclusion of the match.
O’Neil said: “I wasn’t aware of it until after, I was disappointed, I waited for Mark downstairs after I’d seen it and spoke to him.
“I was really respectful at the end, having lost a massive game, congratulated them on a really good performance and reaching Wembley.
“He apologised, to celebrate in a young boy’s face like that was disgusting. The boy is really upset.
“It was really important for me to speak to Mark about it because they are just kids doing their job.”
Following their dramatic 3-2 victory at Molineux, Coventry will play 12-time winners Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley on the weekend of April 20/21.
