Saturday 21 February 2015 19:58, UK
Michael Kightly has defended Burnley team-mate Ashley Barnes after he was central in Nemanja Matic being sent off in the 1-1 Premier League draw with Chelsea.
The striker, who was not punished, caught the Chelsea midfielder just below the knee in a nasty challenge when his foot appeared to slip over the top of the ball.
Matic reacted furiously and pushed Barnes to the floor, and the red card he was shown by referee Martin Atkinson is set to rule him out of the Capital One Cup final against Tottenham next Sunday.
Kightly said: "Their players were saying to me he had been doing it the whole game but Ash is not a nasty person. He competes. If you can’t compete what can you do.
"It’s a part of his game that he is very good at. He gets hold of the ball and he’s effective but he’s not a dirty player in any way.
"For me I didn’t see anything wrong but obviously from their point of view, they’ll be disappointed that he (Matic) reacted like that."
Kightly also rejected claims he should have been penalised for a handball in the area that could have given Chelsea the chance to extend their lead to 2-0 - the ball appeared to hit his arm as he went to block a shot from Branislav Ivanovic.
Asked if he would have felt hard done by had a penalty been given, he said: "Most definitely and I think if it was the other way around they would have felt the same.
"To be honest I have just tried to get something on it. I’ve actually turned my back so there is no way if it has hit my hand I have deliberately done it.
"For me I didn’t think that’s a penalty but I’m sure they’ll have their say on it. Normally the big sides get those decisions but they didn’t today."
