Pedro Neto bizarrely clashed with a ball boy during the latter stages of Chelsea’s Champions League defeat by PSG.

With the Blues 4-2 down in injury-time, the ball bounced out of play and Neto attempted to retrieve a fresh one off a ball boy at the side of the Parc des Princes pitch. 

However, the ball boy hesitated and refused to give the ball immediately to Neto, before he seemed to motion to throw it away.

Neto took issue with this in his desperation to get the ball back, and instead pushed over the ball boy, who was left writhing around on the floor in pain. 

The winger’s actions created a scuffle on the touchline as both sets of players took issue with each other.

Neto’s actions were subsequently reviewed by VAR, but they decided not to intervene. 

Pedro Neto clashed with a ball boy during the latter stages of Chelsea’s 5-2 defeat by PSG

The ball boy refused to give the ball back to Neto so the Chelsea star shoved him over to retrieve it instead

Following the shove, the ball boy was left writhing around on the floor in agony

Speaking on TNT Sports’ coverage of the game, Glenn Hoddle leapt to the defence of Neto as he said: ‘Yeah, he’s pushed him but he’s pushed him because the ball boy isn’t going to give him the ball and goes to throw the ball away. 

‘To defend the player, it’s the last minute of the game. He wants to get on with the game and the lad is trying to throw the ball away from him. He just gives him a nudge.’

Neto did apologise to the ball boy after the incident, although things were about to get worse for him when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia made it 5-2 to PSG later in stoppage time. 

Meanwhile, after VAR decided not to intervene in Paris, Hoddle added: ‘Rightly so. If the ball boy hadn’t done anything then that’s another story.’

At full-time, Neto was seen giving the ball boy his shirt and the pair appeared to make up with each other following the strange incident. 

He later spoke to TNT and expressed his remorse for what had gone on.

‘I want to come out to say that the situation that happened on the pitch, I went to apologise to the ball boy already and spoke with him,’ he said. 

‘The emotions of the game, we were losing and I wanted to pick up the ball. He was carrying the ball with him, I gave him a little push in the heat of the moment and I saw that I hurt him.

‘I’m not like this so straight away I went there to apologise and I gave him my shirt as well because that cannot happen so I’m really sorry about that. And I just wanted to say one more time I’m really sorry for him.’

Neto’s actions created a scuffle on the touchline as both sets of players clashed 

The Portuguese winger did apologise to the ball boy and later spoke about the incident on TV

He also gave him his shirt from the game as the pair embraced after the full-time whistle

When pressed further, Neto added: ‘I have to apologise to him. In the heat of the moment, how football is, you have a lot of emotions. 

‘I wanted to get the ball first, I gave him a push and I went to say sorry to him straight away and then we spoke at the end. 

‘He even laughed because I gave him the shirt and I said sorry like 35 times so I’m really sorry about the situation.

‘He knew what happened as well so he was happy as well with the situation. He knew in the heat of the moment, Vitinha said to him too that I’m not like that and the only thing that matters was that I was worried about him. So I’m really sorry about the situation.’ 

It added to a frustrating night for Liam Rosenior’s side after they had matched their opponents for much of the evening.

Enzo Fernandez had made it 2-2 midway through the second half, but three late goals from the hosts ensured they will take a 5-2 aggregate lead heading into next week’s second leg. 

The Neto situation brought back memories of January 2013 when Chelsea icon Eden Hazard infamously clashed with Charlie Morgan. 

Morgan was a ballboy for Chelsea’s League Cup semi-final clash against Swansea Swansea, and tried to waste time.

With the Welsh side 2-0 up on aggregate, Morgan lay on the ball, infuriating Hazard who then kicked him, with the Belgian sent off as a result and handed a three-match fan. 

Hazard later apologised as he said: ‘ The boy put his whole body on to the ball and I was just trying to kick the ball.

‘I think I kicked the ball and not the boy. I apologise.’

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side’s second goal during the second leg of the Champions League playoff soccer match between Real Madrid and Benfica in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo)

PARIS: Real Madrid and Manchester City will face off in a Champions League knockout tie for the fifth season running after being drawn Friday to play each other in the last 16, while reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain will take on Chelsea.The Spanish giants, record 15-time European champions, will host City in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next month before travelling to England for the return the following week. The clubs have already played each other this season, with Pep Guardiola’s City winning 2-1 in Madrid in December during the league phase, in which the Premier League club finished eighth and Real ninth.That allowed City, Champions League winners in 2023, to advance straight to the last 16 while Madrid had to come through the knockout phase play-offs, in which they beat Benfica 3-1 on aggregate.This is the eighth season in which the teams have played each other since 2012. Real beat City in the knockout phase play-offs last season, and in the quarter-finals on the way to winning the trophy in 2024. They also emerged victorious in the semi-finals in 2022 with City winning at the same stage the following year.PSG will be at home to Chelsea in the first leg after qualifying for this stage with a 5-4 aggregate win over Ligue 1 rivals Monaco in the play-offs. Chelsea progressed straight to the last 16 after finishing sixth in the league phase.The sides played each other in the knockout stages in three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016, with Chelsea winning the first of those confrontations in the quarter-finals and PSG triumphing in the last 16 in the following two.Their last encounter came in July’s Club World Cup final in the United States, when Chelsea won 3-0 against last season’s European champions.Chelsea have been coached since January by Liam Rosenior, who had previously come up against PSG in Ligue 1 as coach of Strasbourg.– Arsenal face Leverkusen, Newcastle play Barcelona –There is a record total of six English clubs in the last 16. None will play each other in the last 16 but there are two potential all-English quarter-finals.Liverpool will have a last-16 rematch against Galatasaray, the Turkish giants having defeated the Anfield club 1-0 in September in the league phase.The winner of that tie will play either PSG or Chelsea in the quarter-finals, meaning there is a chance Liverpool will get the opportunity to avenge their defeat by the Parisians on penalties a year ago.Meanwhile, Newcastle United will take on Barcelona with the first leg at St James’ Park — the Spanish side won 2-1 there during the league phase in September.Tottenham Hotspur were drawn to play Atletico Madrid, with the winners of that tie then facing Newcastle or Barcelona in the last eight.Arsenal, who finished first in the league phase, will come up against Bayer Leverkusen and if they win that would then be huge favourites in a quarter-final against Bodo/Glimt or Sporting of Portugal.The last-16 meeting with Sporting is the Norwegian upstarts’ reward for knocking out last season’s beaten finalists Inter Milan in the play-offs.German champions Bayern Munich will play Atalanta, the sole Italian club left in the competition.The first legs will take place on March 10 and 11, with the second legs a week later. The teams who qualified directly for this stage after finishing in the top eight in the league phase will all be at home in the return matches.This season’s Champions League final will take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30.