West Brom talent Taylor Gardner-Hickman apologises for controversial incident against Nottingham Forest
Taylor Gardner-Hickman has apologised for kicking the ball into the Nottingham Forest fans as West Brom lost 4-0 on Monday (18 April).
The youngster lashed out in frustration shortly after coming on, receiving a yellow card for the action, as the Baggies fell to a dreadful defeat amid a feeling of injustice at refereeing decisions.
The midfielder came on shortly after his side had gone 2-0 down, having already had Darnell Furlong sent off harshly in conceding a penalty, and Forest’s second coming from a corner after a throw-in was clearly awarded the wrong way.
20-year-old Gardner-Hickman wrote on his Instagram on Tuesday (19 April), via the Birmingham Mail: “I would just like to apologise on the incident last night (Monday).
“I genuinely meant to kick the ball off of the advertising hoardings but unfortunately it hit the top of the board and went into the crowd.
“As I said it is not in my nature to kick a ball into the crowd, so again I apologise for how it seemed and I am so glad no one was hurt.”
Heated
Basically nothing went right as the slim playoff hopes were extinguished.
Furlong’s handball which gave away the first goal looked to be accidental, but he was sent off anyway.
Then the referee let the home side take a quick throw when it clearly should have been a Baggies ball, and the outraged defence failed to keep out the resulting corner.
It could have been worse had one of the bright spots this season, Gardner-Hickman, been sent off for smashing the ball into the home fans and sparking a brief clash between the players.
If it was a mistake as he and his manager said then it was of course right for him to apologise.
Steve Bruce had defended the man he belated brought into the first team after the game, saying, via the Birmingham Mail: “He wouldn’t do anything malicious.
“He’s a young kid caught up in the whole thing, and as I said, I think he’s tried to bash the ball against the advertising board and, unfortunately, missed it.”
It probably isn’t a great sign that his accuracy was that off, but a line needs to be drawn under a dreadful day at the office for the whole team.
In other West Brom news, Bruce has demanded a big change from a surprisingly large number of the squad.
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