Tony Mowbray said there was no ‘angry exchange’ with a ball boy which led to him being sent off in Rovers’ Carabao Cup defeat at Sheffield United.

Mowbray was seen have a conversation with a ball boy as Rovers chased a late equaliser at Bramall Lane, feeling the youngster had held on to the ball too long.

The Rovers boss was then sent off by referee Geoff Eltringham, who Mowbray felt had ‘a difficult night’, despite the official having looked set to initially hand him a yellow card.

Mowbray said his conversation with the ball was about ‘integrity’, feeling the ball should have been delivered back to Rovers quicker than it was.

“It probably falls in with the officials’ performance really,” Mowbray said of his red card.

“I was trying to teach a young guy about values.

“The officials in my opinion had a difficult night. I don’t think there was much in it.

“I thought it was an opportunity to teach a young guy when to do the right thing really, human values, a bit of integrity and honesty.

“It wasn’t the first time. It  was the second time he kept the ball longer than he needed to.

“There were no cross words with him, no harsh words with him. I just tried to tell him what I thought as a young man he should be trying to do properly in his life.

“I try and live my life with good values and honesty and I was trying to teach a young guy. There were no harsh words, no aggression in my voice to him. It wasn’t an angry exchange it was ‘don’t let yourself down, don’t let your club down’.

“Just give the ball back, that’s your job. That was all it was. He shook my hand.

“The gentleman in the middle, I don’t know what he thought.

“I was trying to tell him that there was no harsh words, I just saw it as an opportunity to teach a young person about values, integrity and honesty.

“Whether he was wrapped up in the game I don’t know.

“I’ve got my own views on that, his performance level, there was so much he got wrong in my mind.

“I would be disappointed in myself if I knew I’d done something wrong but I didn’t do anything wrong. I feel pretty comfortable. I was just telling a young human being about values.

“Chris (Wilder) said that he will have a look at it and I’m sure he would have done the same.”

Rovers were incensed late on by a late tackle from Ravel Morrison on Lewis Travis which was only punished by a yellow card.

Though Mowbray said: “I don’t want to get involved in individual stuff. There was so much out there it was ridiculous how much he got wrong in my opinion.”