Brentford boss Dean Smith claims referee Paul Tierney refused to shake hands

Brentford boss Dean Smith claims referee Paul Tierney refused to shake his hand after he had questioned a penalty decision in the 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough

Smith felt Brentford should have been awarded a spot-kick by Tierney when Kamohelo Mokotjo appeared to be tripped in the area by Adam Clayton in the first half.

The Brentford boss said: "We had a stonewall penalty early on I thought but the referee refused to shake my hand at the end. He didn't indulge in any discussion and refused to shake my hand. I've never known it before and I'll be speaking to the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) about it for sure.

"The first goal is one we've really worked on and we thoroughly deserved it. You could hear the disappointment from the Middlesbrough fans. A lot of clubs expect little Brentford to turn up and we surprise them."

Brentford took the lead just before the half-hour when Yoann Barbet nodded in Ollie Watkins' delivery. Boro fought back after the restart to level through Martin Braithwaite in the 68th minute, only for Watkins to reclaim the lead four minutes later.

Boro, who have fallen behind in each of their last four matches and sit four behind the play-offs, earned a point when full-back Fabio da Silva arrived to convert at the back post with 14 minutes to go.