Dyche Defends Barnes Challenge

Burnley boss Sean Dyche has defended forward
Ashley Barnes following his challenge on
Nemanja Matic in Saturday’s draw at Chelsea.
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Matic was sent off after reacting angrily to being
struck on the shin by Barnes, with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho describing the tackle as “criminal”.
Barnes was not punished during the match and faces
no FA action.
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Dyche said he found Mourinho’s view “hard to
believe”, adding: “In live time no-one reacts, apart
from Matic.”
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Barnes played the ball but caught the Serbia
midfielder high on the shin with his studs as he
followed through after making a pass..
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The Clarets manager admitted that slow-motion
replays made the incident look like an “ugly
challenge”, but described it as a “coming-together at
an unusual angle”.
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On Matic’s reaction, Mourinho said: “What are the
consequences of his push? Nothing. The
consequence for Matic from the tackle? It could be
the end of his career.”
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In a 10-minute interview with the club’s video
channel, Dyche said comments about the incident
had “gone a bit too far” and that he wanted to “give a
balanced view, retrospectively, with the evidence we
have got and my opinion”.
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He said: “Ashley Barnes tries to play the ball to Dave
Jones. His momentum and pendulum motion of his
leg swings up through the ball and unfortunately
Matic is late arriving on the scene – not in a vicious
way.
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“Please everyone look at the reaction from a bunch
of expert footballers on the Chelsea side, like John
Terry – a real warrior – and Kurt Zouma, big strong
boys, and Branislav Ivanovic.
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“They are right on top of this one, Jose Mourinho had a similar view to me and the crowd. In live time no one reacts, apart from Matic.”
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“This is a horrific tackle by Ashley Barnes. It’s
dangerous, it’s naughty. I understand that reaction
from Nemanja Matic. It’s not right, but I understand
it, because Ashley Barnes could easily have broken
his leg. Matic, for that, is going to miss the League
Cup final. Barnes doesn’t even get a yellow card.”