OVER the course of his 40-year managerial career, Neil Warnock has made arguing with referees something of a trademark. There is nothing new in the sight of the Middlesbrough manager haranguing officials from his position on the touchline, but that should not detract from the sense of injustice when his frustration is merited. You could watch football for another 40 years and not see a worse decision than the one that sent Warnock into meltdown yesterday afternoon.

Jarrad Branthwaite might not have been intending to hurt Dael Fry when he swung a boot and caught the centre-half in the face in the 14th minute, but it should not have mattered. Boro should have been awarded a penalty, Branthwaite should have received a straight red card, and the remaining 76 minutes of the game would have been very different.

As it was, referee Dean Whitestone failed to issue any punishment, and while Boro had a number of opportunities to score against Blackburn’s 11 men, they were ultimately undone by a combination of errant finishing and a rare moment of defensive laxity.

For an hour, the Teessiders shrugged off the disappointment of Fry’s blood-stained departure to dominate proceedings, but Nathan Wood wasted their best opportunity when he shot against the post from six yards out after Blackburn goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski parried Britt Assombalonga’s header.

Within two minutes, Blackburn were opening the scoring through Joe Rothwell, and the remainder of the game saw Rovers dominate on the counter-attack as Boro’s composure disappeared.

The upshot was a second home defeat in succession, a run that has dented hopes of a play-off push despite last Wednesday’s impressive win at Nottingham Forest, and for all that Warnock is right to point out that things would have been very different had his side been playing against ten men, successive 1-0 losses on home soil nevertheless confirm the need for new additions ahead of next Monday’s transfer deadline.

That said, however, yesterday’s events still left a bitter taste in the mouth. The Fry incident came in the 14th minute, and should have resulted in a very different outcome.

The Boro centre-half went up to try to win a header as Paddy McNair curled in a cross from the left, but was kicked in the face as Branthwaite tried to hook the ball clear.

Branthwaite would almost certainly not have meant to make contact with Fry’s cheekbone, but it should not have mattered. The Blackburn defender was not in control of his actions, and if kicking someone in the face is not construed as serious foul play, then it is hard to imagine what would be.

Middlesbrough’s players were understandably incensed as Fry started beating the turf in pain, but despite the blood that was pouring from a deep wound just beneath the Teessider’s eye, Whitestone inexplicably failed to award a spot-kick. Had he done so, he would almost certainly have had to issue Branthwaite with a straight red card too.

Warnock, never one to hide his emotions, was justifiably livid on the touchline, while his opposite number, former Boro boss Tony Mowbray, kept silent in a manner that suggested he was well aware that his side had got away with one. Given that there were more than 75 minutes remaining, it was undoubtedly a moment that changed the course of the game.

Warnock’s frustrations were compounded by Fry’s failure to recover from the blow – the defender was forced off after a lengthy bout of treatment to be replaced by Wood – but to Boro’s credit, they refused to allow their anger to get the better of them.

They were the better side for the vast majority of the game, even if their territorial dominance never quite translated itself into a raft of clear-cut opportunities.

Their best opportunity of the first half came shortly before the half-hour mark, with Assombalonga drilling in a direct free-kick from close to the edge of the area that Kaminski did well to tip over the crossbar. From the resultant corner, Blackburn’s defenders could only clear the ball to Sam Morsy, but the midfielder dragged a low shot wide of the right-hand post.

Blackburn’s defenders struggled to clear their lines from set-pieces all afternoon, and when another corner was cleared into Marc Bola’s path on the stroke of half-time, the full-back drilled in a low 25-yard strike that George Saville prodded just wide of the upright.

Blackburn’s only first-half chance came to nothing when Adam Armstrong failed to find the target with an early effort from the edge of the area, and initially at least, Boro’s dominance continued into the second half.

Tavernier’s low effort was turned around the post by Kaminski, and the Blacburn goalkeeper made another good stop on the hour mark, parrying Assombalonga’s header after the Boro skipper rose highest to meet a corner. The rebound dropped invitingly for Wood, but the substitute could only hook a close-range shot against the right-hand post.

It proved a crucial miss, as within two minutes, Blackburn were celebrating a breakthrough that was completely against the run of play.

In fairness to the visitors, it was a well-constructed goal, with Harvey Elliott fashioning a slick one-two with Armstrong that enabled him to break beyond Bola to the byline. With Boro’s defence out of position, the midfielder pulled an intelligent ball back into the heart of the penalty area, and an unmarked Rothwell was left with the simple task of slotting home.

There was still time for Boro to claw their way back into things, but despite the welcome return of Ashley Fletcher as a 72nd-minute substitute, it was Blackburn that were the more threatening side in the closing stages.

Armstrong failed to take two excellent chances to extend the visitors’ lead, first shooting at an onrushing Marcus Bettinelli when he was released beyond the Boro defence and then drilling over from inside the area after a counter-attacking move ended with substitute Sam Gallagher squaring the ball into his path.

Boro were unable to fashion a genuine chance of an equaliser, with their play becoming increasingly ragged in the closing stages. Tavernier shot wide from outside the area, before his afternoon was curtailed by what appeared to be a muscular injury. He will be assessed later today, with Warnock hoping he will not be sidelined for too long.

Tavernier was replaced by Patrick Roberts, with the Manchester City loanee's nine-minute substitute cameo underlining just how far his stock has fallen. He has rapidly become Middlesbrough's forgotten man, and if he is not going to be involved in the second half of the season, it would surely suit all parties for him to return to the Etihad.

He was unable to make an impact yesterday, with the defeat meaning Boro remain three points adrift of the play-off places ahead of Wednesday's home game with Rotherham. Warnock is looking forward to being reunited with Millers - he will certainly be hoping for a better referee.