<p>"I am sorry. It was not intentional. I just came in too late and made full contact. It looks pretty stupid," the German told sport bild online. <br /><br />The apology coming three days after the foul during the FA Cup final between Portsmouth and Ballack's Chelsea did little to dampen German anger directed at Boateng. <br />The 33-year-old Chelsea midfielder was injured in the first half of Saturday's match against Portsmouth, limping off during his team's 1-0 win after a late tackle by Boateng. <br /><br />Fans on Tuesday vented their anger on dozens of websites, calling him 'public enemy number one; and setting up chatrooms called '82 million against Boateng' or 'Anti-Boateng Group'. <br /><br />Boateng, born in Berlin to a Ghanaian father and a German mother, has had an uneasy relationship with German fans ever since his days playing at Hertha Berlin. <br />He is also a distant relative to German soccer hero, Helmut Rahn, who scored Germany's winning goal in the 1954 World Cup final against Hungary. <br /><br />The irony is that the 23-year-old Berlin-born midfielder who has also played for Tottenham Hotspur, will take part in the World Cup playing for Ghana while his half-brother Jerome is in the preliminary Germany squad for the June 11-July 11 tournament. <br /><br />To make matter worse, Ghana are in Germany's Group D, and play each other on June 23 in Johannesburg. <br /><br />Ballack, who will miss out on what would have been his third World Cup, flew to Sicily on Monday after the scan revealed a tear of one ankle ligament and a partial tear on another that will leave him out of action for eight weeks. <br /><br />On Tuesday he said there was no need for bad blood. "Of course I am very angry and disappointed but in football one should let it go," he said.</p>
<p>"I am sorry. It was not intentional. I just came in too late and made full contact. It looks pretty stupid," the German told sport bild online. <br /><br />The apology coming three days after the foul during the FA Cup final between Portsmouth and Ballack's Chelsea did little to dampen German anger directed at Boateng. <br />The 33-year-old Chelsea midfielder was injured in the first half of Saturday's match against Portsmouth, limping off during his team's 1-0 win after a late tackle by Boateng. <br /><br />Fans on Tuesday vented their anger on dozens of websites, calling him 'public enemy number one; and setting up chatrooms called '82 million against Boateng' or 'Anti-Boateng Group'. <br /><br />Boateng, born in Berlin to a Ghanaian father and a German mother, has had an uneasy relationship with German fans ever since his days playing at Hertha Berlin. <br />He is also a distant relative to German soccer hero, Helmut Rahn, who scored Germany's winning goal in the 1954 World Cup final against Hungary. <br /><br />The irony is that the 23-year-old Berlin-born midfielder who has also played for Tottenham Hotspur, will take part in the World Cup playing for Ghana while his half-brother Jerome is in the preliminary Germany squad for the June 11-July 11 tournament. <br /><br />To make matter worse, Ghana are in Germany's Group D, and play each other on June 23 in Johannesburg. <br /><br />Ballack, who will miss out on what would have been his third World Cup, flew to Sicily on Monday after the scan revealed a tear of one ankle ligament and a partial tear on another that will leave him out of action for eight weeks. <br /><br />On Tuesday he said there was no need for bad blood. "Of course I am very angry and disappointed but in football one should let it go," he said.</p>
