Toffees chief denies Belgian was taken off as punishment.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez has denied that striker Kevin Mirallas was substituted at during the break of their goalless draw with West Brom because he had missed a penalty, insisting that he was withdrawn because of injury, the BBC report.
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“Kevin felt his hamstring was getting sensitive. It was a precaution,” the Everton boss said after the game.
“They are not related. The talking point is because we missed it.”
Regular spot kick taker Leighton Baines stepped aside for the Belgian to take the set piece, only to see him hit the outside of the post.
Baines bagged a spot kick of his own last week the the FA Cup defeat to West Ham, but Martinez claims that the England international had no problem with ceding the duties to his teammate.
“Normally Leighton takes the penalties but we have a few players in the squad capable of taking them,” Martinez added.
“Leighton was quite happy to let him take it because he felt confident and right in that moment.
“There is no big issue in that. It became an issue because he couldn’t find the back of the net.”
However, most felt it was a strange decision, with Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville citing the omission of a regular penalty taker as what cost them the game.