As the clock ticked into injury-time at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, the Candystripes were handed a lifeline when referee Damien MacGraith judged that Patrick McEleney was brought down in the box by Josh Honohan.
Replays suggested that it was a highly-contentious decision, and while Rovers boss Stephen Bradley directed his ire towards MacGraith in his post-match interview, Byrne chose to point the finger at McEleney for what he saw as unsportsmanlike behaviour from the midfielder.
"We'll all be talking about Damien MacGraith but I'm going to focus on Patrick McEleney," said Byrne during the post-match analysis.
"It's an absolute disgrace, a player of his calibre going down like that in the box to gain an advantage is absolutely disgraceful.
"My blood is boiling here as a former player, as a competitor, as a sportsperson, to see somebody go down like that in the box is just not on.
"We don't have VAR but we have great sportsmanship in this league, a great atmosphere, a great buzz and that's why people come to these games."
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The result denied the Tallaght club the chance to move to within five points of leaders Shelbourne, who fell to a 1-0 defeat at Galway United on Friday night.
The draw also moves Derry City one point closer to Damien Duff's leaders and they are now just three points back with half a dozen games to play.
Byrne's fellow pundit and former Derry player Gareth McGlynn also absolved MacGraith of blame, stating that the assistant referee should have had a better view of the incident.
"I wouldn't even concentrate on the referee," said McGlynn. "The linesman is 12 yards away. He's got to get involved in the game and make a decision.
"If Derry City go on to win the league that is a huge point. Nobody will ever remember that incident. All Patrick McEleney wants is to bring a league title back to Derry City."
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