The day Wrexhams manager stormed the field, saw red and sparked a sarcastic job offer to Ryan Rey

What is it with Wrexham and Hollywood-style drama at the death?

After the pulsating finale on Easter Monday when Ben Foster’s last-gasp penalty save secured a potentially season-defining win in the race for promotion, a trip to Barnet wasn’t expected to send blood pressures soaring again.

For 50 minutes, that’s pretty much how things went. Neither the leaders nor their hosts did very much at all beyond put in maximum effort, meaning chances were at a premium. And then came the afternoon’s flashpoint.

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Whether Callum McFadzean, making his first start in a little over two months, intentionally caught Laurie Walker with his trailing right leg after the Barnet goalkeeper had got both hands on a miscued overhead kick from Paul Mullin, only he knows.

Wrexham go down to 10 men as Callum McFadzean sees a straight red for this challenge on Barnet's goalkeeper! 🟥😳@TheVanaramaNL pic.twitter.com/7mPTEARP9u

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 15, 2023

But referee Ed Duckworth certainly felt he did. Out came the red card and Wrexham were suddenly down to 10 men. Watching from the technical area, manager Phil Parkinson’s immediate focus was to quickly oversee an on-pitch reshuffle, which saw the hole left behind by his now departed left wing-back plugged by a switch to 4-3-2.

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Wrexham’s first red card of the season, though, clearly still rankled. Just how much became apparent at the final whistle when Parkinson strode onto the pitch and headed straight for Walker who, after receiving plenty of abuse from the 1,831 away fans behind his goal, had been replying in kind with a few words of his own.

Amid much finger-wagging, the two got so close their noses were almost touching, before Parkinson was also dismissed by Duckworth. After the game, the Wrexham manager and Barnet goalkeeper had slightly different versions of what was said but clearly strong words had been exchanged.

“He (Parkinson) tried to say that I was cheating,” claimed Walker. “But I’m sure you guys can see that he (McFadzean) came straight through and kicked me in the face.”

Parkinson countered: “I said to the ‘keeper that I thought he made a meal of it. He disagreed with me but that was it. Nothing in that, to me.”

The bad blood wasn’t over just yet, though. After Parkinson emerged to fulfil his media duties on The Hive pitch 10 or so minutes later, a second war of words broke out between the two men, including an offer from the Wrexham manager to “pass on my phone number so we can chat about it later”.

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Walker made clear via his own animated actions he still saw things very differently, before eventually being led away.

Even after all that, the Barnet goalkeeper continued the spat on social media, first tweeting Wrexham owner Ryan Reynolds’ Twitter account with the message, “How’s my acting skills, mate, think I could play a part in your next film. I think your gaffer thinks I could”.

This tweet was later deleted but Walker then took to social media again, to add: “Soo (sic) apparently getting kicked in the face is cheating, goalkeepers must voluntarily move their heads towards people’s boots”.

Seeing as the last got taken down have it again lol. Soo apparently getting kicked in the face is cheating 🤔 goalkeepers must voluntarily move their heads towards people’s boots 👍🏼👍🏼 🤔 https://t.co/CiqMclZk6H

— laurie walker (@lauriewalker89) April 15, 2023

It was an extraordinary climax to an otherwise humdrum league match — albeit one jam-packed with tension due to just how much was at stake for both clubs. Wrexham’s battling goalless draw against play-off chasing Barnet means a maximum of six points are needed to guarantee promotion.

With back-to-back home games coming up this week against Yeovil Town and Boreham Wood, the prospect of ending their 15-year absence at the Racecourse is a mouthwatering one.

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The potential involvement of Parkinson and McFadzean in that push for glory on home turf lies in the hands of the Football Association of Wales (FAW).

Unlike Swansea City and Cardiff City, who came under the jurisdiction of the English Football Association several years ago due to playing in the English Football League (EFL), Wrexham’s disciplinary matters remain with the FAW. That will only change next season if Wrexham are in League Two.

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Parkinson insisted McFadzean’s red card will be appealed, with a decision due before Tuesday’s rearranged clash with Yeovil. If the 29-year-old’s three-game ban is upheld, his season is over — unless Wrexham finish second and enter the play-offs.

As for the manager, there seems little chance of the extraordinary post-match scenes at The Hive keeping the 55-year-old away from the run-in. Unlike players, there is no automatic touchline ban for a manager or coach receiving a red card in the National League.

There is a totting-up procedure that sees four yellow cards across the season — basically, being banished from the technical area during a match — incur a one-game ban. But Parkinson has only had one such punishment during 2022-23.

Any potential disciplinary action against the Wrexham manager will be further slowed by the FAW having to wait for the referee’s report before deciding what, if anything, needs to be done.

Duckworth’s version of events will be sent first to the English FA and only then forwarded to its Welsh counterpart, so any potential charge is clearly not imminent.

Should a charge materialise — and that will rest solely on what the referee includes in his report — Parkinson will then be given the opportunity to have his say. He can also ask for a personal hearing to fight any charge, further delaying matters — more than likely way past that final-day assignment at Torquay United on April 29.

For his part, Parkinson was certainly not in a conciliatory mood towards the officials despite admitting to his side earning “a good point in the context of 10 v 11”.

“Refs have got to manage situations in games,” said the Wrexham boss, who felt his side should have been awarded a spot kick when a shot was blocked by a Barnet hand. “The best refs do that and the incident for the penalty was a situation he had to manage.

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“If a hand is used to stop a goal-bound shot, that is a penalty. I have seen it back from plenty of angles. It is also not a red card. I am looking forward to hearing his summary. The frustrating thing is we can watch the footage straight away. Referees are not allowed to.

“It takes about four or five days before they get the footage. No doubt the head of referees will then ring me and apologise.”

Asked if he’d had an explanation over his dismissal from referee Duckworth, Parkinson replied: “I have to wait half an hour before I’m allowed in to speak to the referee. I am waiting, as the clock is ticking. I’m looking forward to going in and having a chat about his overall performance, as well as those key decisions.”

(Top image: BT Sport)

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