In an exclusive interview with Football Insider, the former PGMOL Chief and former FIFA official said that referee Anthony Backhouse made a “very poor” call by not awarding Morgan Whittaker a spot kick.
Michael Carrick’s team needed to win the match against the struggling Pilgrims at Riverside Stadium on Friday, April 18, in order to have any chance of qualifying for the Championship play-offs.
However, an incident involving Whittaker in the second half cost Middlesbrough one chance to earn those three points.
Morgan Whittaker denied penalty against former club
Rangers and other teams have previously shown interest in Whittaker, but the forward departed Plymouth to sign with Middlesbrough during the January transfer window.
Then, in this game, he almost returned to haunt his former team as he drove into the right side of the penalty box, but defender Julio Pleguezuelo’s challenge pulled him down.
However, Backhouse chose not to indicate the location, leaving Boyd speechless as he covered the match for Sky Sports.
| Morgan Whittaker vs Plymouth | Total (as per SofaScore) |
| Minutes Played | 89 |
| Shots on Target | 2 |
| Shots off Target | 0 |
| Successful Dribbles | 3/8 |
| Accurate Passes | 39/44 |
“No it’s not, and I can’t believe it’s not been given,” the former Rangers striker remarked in response to a question on whether the challenge would result in a penalty for Middlesbrough.
“It’s Morgan Whittaker, we’re going to see this here I cannot believe this has not been given. He just gets in the box and he gets his legs swiped away from him you can see here.
“It’s a great touch back inside, it’s a penalty kick that. The referee, he’s saying he’s dived but I think you can tell straight away, why would he go down?
“I just cannot believe he’s not given a penalty. You can see there. I’m watching it again, his foot catches his left one, I mean wow.
“I cannot believe a penalty, and it’s getting to the stage now, Middlesbrough need to find a goal… look he catches him right there, it’s a penalty kick.”
Lee Hendrie then reacted by claiming that Boyd was “miles off it” with his assessment and that there was “no chance” of a penalty, prompting the Scot to react “are you alright mate? Wow. Wow”.
Now, Hackett thinks Boyd was right when he said Middlesbrough ought to have received a penalty kick.
Middlesbrough denied penalty as referee slammed
When asked his thoughts on the choice to deny Carrick’s squad a penalty against Plymouth, Hackett responded as follows:
“[This] incident is a clear foul [with] the referee from a good position getting it wrong. If he thought that there was no contact then why did he not yellow card the Middlesborough player for simulation?
“Of course it was not simulation it is just a very poor call by the referee.”
Tommy Conway gained and converted another penalty kick to give Middlesbrough a 2-1 victory. With three games remaining, they are now three points outside of the top six.