Exclusive: Boyd vindicated after shock at Whittaker call in Middlesbrough v Plymouth
Kris Boyd was left shocked after Middlesbrough were denied a penalty in their clash with Plymouth, and Keith Hackett has backed him with criticism of the controversy.
The former PGMOL Chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that referee Anthony Backhouse made a “very poor” decision in not giving a spot kick to Morgan Whittaker.
Michael Carrick‘s side went into that clash with the struggling Pilgrims at the Riverside Stadium on Friday (18 April) needing a win to maintain any realistic hopes of claiming a Championship play-off place.
However, Middlesbrough were denied one opportunity to get those three points in an incident involving Whittaker during the second half.
Morgan Whittaker denied penalty against former club
After previous interest in Whittaker from the likes of Rangers, the attacker left Plymouth to join Middlesbrough back in the January transfer window.
He then nearly came back to haunt his old side in this game, when he drove into the right side of the penalty area, only to be brought down by a challenge from defender Julio Pleguezuelo.
Backhouse though elected not to point to the spot, which left Boyd stunned as he reported on the game 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 |
After being asked if the challenge was going to lead to a penalty for Middlesbrough, the former Rangers striker said: “No it’s not, and I cannot believe it’s not been given.
“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 believes that Boyd was correct with his claims that Middlesbrough should have been given a penalty kick.
Middlesbrough denied penalty as referee slammed
After being asked by Football Insider what he made of the decision not to award a penalty to Carrick’s team against Plymouth, Hackett said:
“[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.”
Middlesbrough would eventually win the game 2-1 thanks to another penalty that was won and converted by Tommy Conway, meaning they are three points off the top six with three games to go.