25/1/2021–|Last updated: 1/25/202109:34 PM (Makkah)
The match between Blackburn Rovers and their host Middlesbrough in Week No. 26 of the English Premier League “Championship” witnessed a serious accident that almost caused the Middlesbrough player to lose an eye.
In the first half of the confrontation, which ended with Blackburn’s 1-0 win on Sunday, guest defender Jared Branthwaite raised his leg to clear the ball from his area without realizing the severity of the shot.
Pranthwaite hit his opponent, Del Fry, who was trying to reach the ball, with his head, and the latter fell to the ground in pain and asked for help, without the match being stopped or the referee hissing a foul against the Blackburn defender.
😡 Controversy of the weekend. Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock was raging about Jarrad Branthwaite’s ‘challenge’ on Dael Fry that somehow went unpunished and almost took his player’s eye out… pic.twitter.com/3rPe9vCmS2
— Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) January 25, 2021
The accident angered Middlesbrough coach Neil Warnock, who said in remarks after the match, “The team doctor told me that the blow was only a millimeter away from Fry’s eye. He nearly lost his eye permanently, everyone saw what happened.”
Watch full highlights from Blackburn’s win over #Boro, where the main talking point came after just 13 minutes as Jarrad Branthwaite’s studs raked down Dael Fry’s face as he went for a header in the Rovers box – no penalty was given…👀
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 24, 2021
“I was waiting for the referee to show a red card in the face of Pranthwaite, but that did not happen, even though the shot posed a threat to the safety of the opponent. He should have been sent off, we lost one of our best players, and the accident affected the final result of the match.”
