Middlesbrough manager Jonathan Woodgate has claimed that the touchline fracas against Birmingham City last night was ‘blow out of proportion’ by the referee.

Woodgate’s side were held to a 1-1 draw at the Riverside last night by Pep Clotet’s Blues as Ashley Fletcher’s 81st-minute striker cancelled out Lukas Jutkiewicz’s first-half header.

Both sides entered the match in very similar positions and looking to create more breathing space between themselves and the relegation zone, but neither could get what would have been a solid three points.

The game looked to be fizzling out to a draw until Lukas Jutkiewicz hit home what he thought was a late winner for the travelling side, but was left frustrated as the referee had blown the whistle to stop play as Marcus Tavernier was down with a head injury.

The fracas in question occurred when Middlesbrough’s physios were looking to rush onto the pitch as Tavernier showed no signs of getting up in a hurry, with multiple players (including Blues’ ‘keeper Lee Camp) signalling that he needed attention as soon as possible.

This led to a large disruption outside both dugouts and the dismissal of both Leo Percovich and Sean Rush from either side’s backroom staff respectively.

Speaking after the game, Woodgate played down the disagreement between both dugouts, where he stated: "The referee has blown it out of proportion. It's a fracas, it happens. It's passion from both sides. It got the crowd going.

"Listen, if you see Leo is involved, I'm going to help him. I know Sean. Leo and Sean will meet after this, have a beer and kiss and make up and whatever they do. 

“I was charging down the line shouting, 'Head injury, he's got to stop the game'. But don't forget, (Jutkiewicz) was offside when he scored anyway, so it wouldn't have stood."

Do you know what these ex-Boro players are doing now?

The verdict

This was an unsavoury moment to what was a well-contested game at the Riverside and it can be attributed to a buildup of tension between the two sides throughout the game, which boiled over in the end.

It was a tight call as to whether Jutkiewicz was actually offside but that point is somewhat trivial because the referee should have seen Tavernier down with a head injury much quicker than he did.

Once the situation had calmed down, the opposing dugouts will have ‘kissed and made up’ as Woodgate says, which is expected from to experienced heads in the footballing world.

When results are on the line like in this situation, there can be moments where tempers get the better of key figures but there will surely be no bad blood between the two parties going forward.