Middlesbrough boss Tony Pulis said he was baffled by the decision to send off midfielder Mo Besic.

While admitting that Bosnian did pull the shirt of Bradley Dack, Pulis felt it didn’t warrant a red card.

The decision was a while in the making, with referee Scott Duncan consulting with his assistant Sian Massey-Ellis before finally giving the foul and subsequent red card in the 21st minute.

Asked for his take on the incident, Pulis said: “How they've made that decision is beyond me.

“The sending off, we were the better team up until that.

"The referee doesn't send him off, it's the fourth official and the linesman.

"I'll say it now, Besic does pull his shirt but our goalkeeper is getting there first. It's a yellow card not a sending off.

"How they make that decision that ultimately changed the game is beyond me. You've got to be 110 per cent sure that you're stopping him from scoring a clear cut chance."

Rovers took the lead from the resulting free kick as Charlie Mulgrew curled home his fifth goal of the season.

Corry Evans missed an excellent chance to double the lead just before the break after Danny Graham saw a shot saved.

Dack hit the post with a great strike moments before Boro levelled through Britt Assombalonga’s terrific curling effort from the left edge of the box.

But it was just the decision to send off Besic that angered the Boro boss, who added: “I just thought the sending off completely knocked the stuffing out of them (in the first half).

"In the second half you bring Britt on and take a chance. He scored a great goal but there's two other chances.

"The one he misses and the lady linesman puts her flag up, he's not offside in a million years. He's a yard onside.

"I know he misses it but he's a yard onside. The last chance at the end, without being too critical, you've got to score those chances.

"As I’ve said, if you take one or two games out of the equation, the times we've played at home and the opportunities we've had to score, even today with 10 men in the second half.

"With 25 minutes to go when you get Jordan (Hugill) through with only the keeper to beat, Britt has not scored the one that's offside then he's had chance in last minute."