SEAN Dyche said it would be “extreme” to ban ball boys in the wake of the Capital One Cup controversy.

Chelsea’s Eden Hazard was sent off for trying to kick the ball from underneath a Swansea ball boy.

The indicent has sparked debate, with former Scotland winger turned pundit Pat Nevin calling for the ball boy system to be scrapped.

But Dyche said: “That’s probably a bit extreme.

“The game could be so slow if you’re banning ball boys and then the crowd get hold of the ball and it never comes back, and just when another comes in from the fourth official they throw it on.

“It could be amusing for a time, but I’m not sure that’s the way forward.”

Of the incident, the Burnley boss added: “It’s a strange one. It’s the heat of the moment and the spur of the moment.

“The fact is they want to win a match and it’s probably not the ball boy’s job to be holding the ball back.

“But like all of these things now it’s blown out of all proportion in my opinion.

“It will be dealt with by the appropriate people.”

Burnley’s ball boys are made up of a selection of Barrowford Celtic’s Under 14s to Under 16s age groups.