![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770767890_19_0_Sheffield-United-v-Middlesbrough-Sky-Bet-Championship.jpg\")
<\/p>\nJoe Rothwell saw red as Middlesbrough beat Sheffield United<\/p>\n
Joe Rothwell of Sheffield United is shown the red card(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett explained why, in his opinion, the decision to send Joe Rothwell off was the right one during Middlesbrough<\/a>\u2019s win over Sheffield United.<\/p>\n Rothwell saw a straight red with ten minutes in the game remaining for a late challenge on Alan Browne, which co-commentator Don Goodman called a \u2018horrible tackle\u2019 during Sky Sports\u2019 broadcast.<\/p>\n Thankfully Browne was quickly back to his feet and appeared unhurt after the incident. It proved costly for the home side too, who were pushing for an equaliser and had momentum in their favour after halving Boro’s two-goal lead with 15 minutes remaining.<\/p>\n On why he agreed with Gavin Ward that the challenge for was a red and not just a yellow, despite the frustrations of Sheffield United fans, Hackett said it went beyond reckless.<\/p>\n Hackett told Football Insider:<\/a> \u201cSheffield Utd v Middlesbrough. Referee Gavin Ward (was) correct in issuing a straight red card to United\u2019s Rothwell for serious foul play.<\/p>\n \u201cThe law states: Serious foul play (is) a tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality, and must be sanctioned as serious foul play.<\/p>\n \u201cAny player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.\u201c<\/p>\n Unusually, the two bosses agreed after that there could be no complaints too. Kim Hellberg called it a horrible tackle, but said thankfully Browne was not hurt by it.<\/p>\n FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK! Keep up with all the Middlesbrough FC latest via the Gazette’s dedicated Facebook page<\/a><\/p>\n Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder admitted: \u201cI don\u2019t know whether it\u2019s just maybe a mistimed tackle. But I\u2019ve got no arguments with the decision.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you can give me like five seconds yet again about the consistency level of the referees\u2026 it\u2019s just absolutely so poor; ridiculous for both teams. The consistency of the decisions…<\/p>\n \u201cBut that didn\u2019t play a part in the result, just the general flow of the game where he was just the star of the show and wanted to break it up all the time.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t want to come and see him [the referee], you want to go and see two teams having a right go at it, which for the majority of the time that was the case.<\/p>\n \u201cBut Joe, maybe a bit of frustration, maybe not playing football at the early part of the season and wanted to make his mark. But it\u2019s a mistimed tackle and yeah, I\u2019ve got no issue with the decision off the back of that.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s got his head in his hands straight away and in the changing room afterwards, and obviously that made it doubly difficult for us to build on that momentum that we obviously had.\u201d<\/p>\n Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search<\/a><\/p>\n ———-<\/p>\n Here at TeessideLive, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Middlesbrough FC <\/a>coverage and analysis.<\/p>\n Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest Boro news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here <\/a>to subscribe.<\/p>\n Your information will be hidden, you’ll only ever receive messages from the Teesside Live sports team, and you can leave any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘Exit group’. If you\u2019re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice <\/a>.<\/p>\n