Tottenham Hotspur winger Lucas Moura has attracted criticism from BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Alan Hutton after images emerged of an incident involving a ball boy.
The Lowdown: Spurs bounce back...
Spurs have sealed two mightily impressive comeback wins in the space of a few days with crucial victories away to Bournemouth (3-2) in the Premier League and Marseille in Europe (2-1).
The former result appears to have built up real spirit in Antonio Conte's squad with the Lilywhites now making it two wins from two after finding themselves behind.
Against the Cherries, Spurs fought back from a two-goal deficit to ultimately clinch a crucial league victory in the race for a top four spot.
Goals from Ryan Sessegnon, Ben Davies and a neat last minute finish from Rodrigo Bentancur sealed all three points for Tottenham at the Vitality Stadium - yet one incident involving Lucas has attracted some attention.
The Latest: Hutton slams Lucas...
Speaking to Football Insider, ex-Lilywhites defender Hutton has slammed the Brazilian for his altercation with a ball boy when Spurs were chasing the game.
As shown by images courtesy of the BBC, Lucas was seen wresting the ball off a Bournemouth ball boy who was pictured visibly upset after the incident.
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Hutton claims, despite Spurs' desperation to get on with the game, that situations like that must not happen.
He explained:
“You can’t react that way. But you need to understand that the ball boys are there to do a job and it is to get the ball and give it back as soon as possible. That is why they are there, they are not there to hold up play and stop time.
“It does come up now and then. All it takes is a briefing with the ball boys before a game, which I am sure they have, to tell them to get the ball back in play as soon as possible. That stops this situation.
“I can see both sides of the coin but at the end of the day they are there for a job and that is what they have to do. But, as a professional footballer you can’t react to that. I mean they are kids, come on.
“If they are not going to give you the ball back instantly just walk away and let the referee deal with it.“
The Verdict: Correct...
Lucas' eagerness to get the ball back in play is obviously understandable in the scenario, yet tussling with a ball boy has to be deemed unacceptable.
Spurs will be overjoyed with their successive comeback victories but moments like this must be avoided in future, not least for both the player and club's reputations.