In an attempt to patch things up, Neto met with the youngster after the match to offer a personal apology. He revealed that his Portugal international team-mate, Vitinha, helped bridge the communication gap to ensure the ball boy understood his regret. The 26-year-old Blues winger also gave him his jersey and, later, a visibly shaken Neto appeared on TNT Sports to express his regret. He emphasised that the incident was out of character and entirely driven by the pressure of the score.
"I want to apologise. I already spoke with him. It was the heat of the moment. We were losing, and I wanted to pick up the ball. I gave him a little push, and that cannot happen. I saw that I hurt him; I’m not like this… it was in the heat of the moment; I gave him my shirt. I have to apologise to him. I’m really, really sorry about that," Neto explained.
"Straight away I spoke to him and he laughed, he was happy I gave him the shirt and I said sorry like 35 times. I didn’t understand his French but he was laughing, so I think he knew it was a heat-of-the-moment thing, and Vitinha told him I’m not like that."