Fulham's Bernd Leno 'to face no action over apparent ball boy shove'

Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno is reportedly expected to escape retrospective action for pushing a ball boy in the 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth on Boxing Day.

The German shot-stopper placed his left arm on the boy when he tried to quickly retrieve the ball for a goal kick in the second half.

While Leno later apologised to the boy, referee Tim Robinson went over to the touchline to speak to a match steward.

The official gave an instruction for all the ball boys to be stood down and for the multi-ball protocol to be abandoned for the remainder of the contest.

Leno, who had already been booked earlier in the contest, was not punished for the altercation during the Boxing Day fixture.

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According to The Mirror, the former Arsenal goalkeeper is expected to escape any retrospective action from the Football Association.

The report claims that Leno will escape any further punishment because the referee dealt with the incident on the field.

Commenting on the incident after the game, Fulham boss Marco Silva suggested that the ball boys had been instructed to slow the game down.

Silva told reporters: "I spoke with Bernd about it. It's clear he spoke to the boy after the moment. Top professional he is, he wanted to play quick but the ball boys were holding the ball.

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"I don't know who give them the instructions to hold it. He touched the ballboy, not pushed him - they are different things. I'm not English but I know the difference. He touched him.

"The fourth official was clear the ball boys were delaying the game. We wanted to play quick. The ball boys did their job with instructions to delay the game. At that moment the referee decided to end the multi-ball."

Leno, who has played all 19 league games this season, will be free to start Sunday's clash with title-chasing Arsenal at Craven Cottage.

Having lost their last three Premier League matches, Fulham will be looking to produce a positive response in their final match of 2023.