Michael Carrick fumes at referee over Fry’s red card in Middlesbrough loss to Sunderland | OneFootball

Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick has hit out at referee James Linnington’s decision to send off defender Dael Fry against Sunderland today.

The former Manchester United midfielder felt the red card and subsequent penalty were harsh.

Sunderland striker Ross Stewart was bearing down on goal, and Fry pulled him slightly. The referee issued a red card and awarded a penalty. However, replays showed the foul happened outside the box.

Stewart converted to give his side the lead six minutes into the second half. Man United loanee Amad Diallo secured three points for the Black Cats with a goal late on.

“I don’t agree with either, to be honest with you,” Carrick said (via Gazette Live). “For the sending off, I don’t think Dael has made any attempt to bring him down.

“There wasn’t a push, a pull, or a trip – he’s literally running in a straight line. Ross is entitled to go down, I don’t blame him and I’m not suggesting he’s dived.

“But from Dael’s point of view, there’s nothing deliberate about it to try and pull him down. Then it’s out of the box – it’s not even worth me answering that. It changed the game. It’s a double whammy for us. In big games like this, you can’t get them decisions wrong.”

Carrick praised his side’s performance after going down to ten men. Ironically, they played their best football when they were a man down.

Boro will aim to take heart from their second-half performance. They will bid to bounce back when they face Watford at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday.