Burnley manager
Sean Dyche has hit back at Jose Mourinho's criticism of referee Martin Atkinson
after the Chelsea
boss blamed officials for his
side's 1-1 draw with the Clarets on Saturday.
After the Stamford Bridge
clash, Mourinho
highlighted four "crucial moments" in a thinly-vied attack on
Atkinson, the most controversial of which saw midfielder Nemanja Matic
sent off in the second half.
Matic was dismissed for
pushing Ashley Barnes after the Burnley striker had caught the Serbia
international with a high, late challenge that Mourinho described as
"criminal".
Chelsea's website also broke
down the incidents, while publishing the views of personalities who agreed with
their manager.
But Dyche claimed it was
necessary to "give a balanced view" on the game's events in a
ten-minute interview with Burnley TV, in which the boss defended Barnes'
tackle.
"When moments like that
occur, it's very rare there is not a reaction to that moment in the
stadium," the manager said.
"Look at the reaction
from a bunch of expert footballers from the Chelsea side - the likes of John
Terry, Kurt Zouma, Branislav Ivanovic - big, strong boys who are on
right top of this moment.
"Jose Mourinho
has a similar view to me, the crowd behind me, circa 15,000, no-one reacts. In
live time no-one reacts except Matic.
"After the event, with
hindsight and slow motion, statements like 'criminal tackle' are being used. I
find that hard to adjust to."
Dyche also believes Barnes'
tackle was not malicious, but instead a natural movement of his leg after the
forward failed to complete a pass.
"After the event of
course, it looks an ugly challenge," he added.
"Ashley Barnes tried to
play the ball down to Dave Jones behind him, his momentum and the pendulum
motion of his leg swings up through the ball.
"Matic is late getting
there - not in a vicious way - but that means his [Barnes'] leg pendulums
through and hits him on the shin."
The Clarets boss also
addressed the other three incidents that Mourinho cited, including two Chelsea
penalty appeals that Atkinson turned down before half-time.
Dyche admits Michael
Kightly's handball in the 33rd minute would "usually" result in a
spot-kick but insisted Jason Shackell's apparent push on Diego Costa
eight minutes later was harder to call.
"Jason Shackell
definitely gets a mild hand on him - is that enough for him to go down? It's a
real debating point," he said.
"That's a close one.
The first one usually gets given but that one is a real tough one for referees.
"He [Costa] is off
balance anyway, he gets a slight nudge and he goes down.
"I'm not remotely saying
he went down easily or is trying to simulate, I just mean it's a mild contact
which inevitably means he ends up on the floor.
"I think that's a tough
one, particularly when you consider the referee's actual angle to see that
incident."
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