Today’s Eden Hazard news: Chelsea’s naughty boy charged by FA, faces longer ban

Today’s news on West London’s naughty boy of the moment is fairly straightforward. But this being the odd duck of a story that it is, there is no shortage of new talking points.

Let’s dive right in:

• Chelsea’s Belgian international already faced a three-game red card ban. Being officially charged by the FA, as he was on Friday afternoon, the governing body citing “insufficient” punishment for the offense, cannot be good news around Stamford Bridge.
• Never mind that it’s (mostly) beside the point, I anticipate a fresh round of “The ball boy deserved it” to unfold in 3 … 2… 1…
• Hazard has until Tuesday at close of business in England to appeal.
• We had two notorious incidents of MLS men being jerks to ball boys in 2012. Now we’ve just broken the seal on a fresh, new year and already a ball boy incident!  Seriously, guys, leave the doggone ball boys alone!
• In fact, what say every club, everywhere, put up signs around the training ground: “Step away from the ball boys! Immediately. No one has to get hurt here!”
• To review the above-mentioned episodes of “What where they thinking?,” please click here for Marc Burch, or here for Colin Clark.
• As some of you have already pointed out, for a nice, balanced look at this whole silly bit of the slightly surreal, laced with the appropriate sense of whimsy, may we suggest Daniel Taylor’s bit from the Guardian. It has a Basil Fawlty reference. If ever a story deserved a Fawlty Towers* reference, by gosh, this one is it.

*Best show on TV. Ever.