- West Ham manager David Moyes has apologized for an outburst that saw him sent off against Frankfurt.
- Moyes angrily kicked a ball back at a ball boy, narrowly missing the youngster's head.
West Ham United manager David Moyes has apologized for kicking a ball at ball boy in anger as his side were knocked out of the Europa League semifinals by Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night.
Moyes lashed out in the 77th minute with the Hammers trailing 1-0, angrily volleying the ball back towards a ball boy who had retrieved it.
The ball narrowly missed the back of the youngster's head, resulting in Moyes being shown a red card.
"I have to apologize for kicking the ball," the Scottish manager said in his post-match press conference. "The ball boy left it short nicely on the volley for me.
"I apologize for it. It didn't hit him, I think I bent it past him."
—FollowTenHagBall (@10arggg) May 5, 2022
Moyes wasn't the only Hammer to be sent off on the night.
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg of the semifinal tie, defender Aaron Cresswell was sent for an early bath after just 19 minutes at the Deutsche Bank Park for dragging down winger Jens Petter Hauge in front of goal.
Frankfurt then quickly made its numerical advantage pay when just seven minutes later striker Rafael Santos Borré tapped home from close range for the game's only goal.
At the final whistle, thousands of Frankfurt fans streamed on to the pitch to celebrate a first European final since 1980.
Despite West Ham's 43-year wait for a major trophy going on, Moyes said he was "really proud" of his players.
"How they played with 10 men was fantastic," he said after the match. "They stayed in it. Other teams would have folded and lost two or three," Moyes said.
"I thought we had better chances than Frankfurt. But we congratulate them. They go through, we don't and we give them our best wishes."
Midfielder Declan Rice said he was disappointed to have not made the final after pulling off impressive wins over Sevilla and Olympique Lyonnais en route to the last four.
"The first goal killed the atmosphere in the first game and it is a mountain to climb from there," he told BT Sport. "We are gutted in there. We have come so far as a group."
Frankfurt face Rangers in the final on May 18.