Should Kevin Mirallas apologise for penalty farce?

Former Everton striker Andy Gray has called on Kevin Mirallas to say sorry to the Everton supporters following his penalty miss against West Brom on Monday.

The Belgian forward appeared to go against team orders by taking the spot-kick away from Leighton Baines, before promptly smacking the ball wide of the post.

It was a crucial miss in a game where West Brom defended with 11 men behind the ball, so an opening goal for Everton would have changed the outlook of the match.

The incident sparked numerous conspiracy theories about a fractured dressing room, over-inflated egos and a team in general disarray.

Robert Martinez was keen to play down the incident after the fame, as was Steven Naismith – even though at the time you could see the Scotland striker trying to persuade Mirallas to hand the ball back to Baines.

Mirallas was taken off at half-time, officially because of a hamstring strain though that remains suspicious. Either way I hope Martinez has given Mirallas a severe telling off for breaking rank. I also hope Mirallas has said sorry to the players for letting his ego get the better of him, not least Leighton Baines.

But does Mirallas owe the fans an apology? Or at least an explanation?

This is what Gray had to say:

"If I asked you ‘Who takes Everton’s penalties?’ who would you say? (Baines) takes Everton’s penalties and I don’t know why Kevin Mirallas thought it was his turn.

"If he takes it off him and scores, that’s bad enough because he shouldn’t do that. But to take it off him and then miss it?

"In this day where footballers are so quick to get on social media and air their grievances, it would be so nice for Kevin Mirallas or his agent to get on social media and explain what went on there, what he was thinking about, what was in his mind.

"If he hasn’t got that, then (make) a simple apology to Everton fans because that is two points gone.

"There’s no doubt in my mind had Everton scored that penalty, and I think Baines would have, that they would have gone on and won the game."