Burnley coach Vincent Kompany said the quality of refereeing in the Premier League had been “not good enough” this season.
Kompany was sent off in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea for protesting a penalty decision that also resulted in defender Lorenz Assignon being shown red, the latest in a series of incidents Kompany believes they happened against the relegation-battling Clarets.
Kompany said he spoke to referee Darren England after Saturday’s game to apologize for his choice of words at the time, and he also had a number of conversations with referee boss Howard Webb, but on Monday he made it clear that he felt I’ve heard that standards here have fallen.
“I will continue to say what I think,” Kompany said. “I don’t shy away from it and I told the referees themselves, the officials: the refereeing wasn’t good enough this season.
“And I think I said that in a constructive way, also understanding the fact that it’s not easy for them. The control is massive, the pressure on officials is greater than ever before.
“I think adding VAR and more opinions and more officials doesn’t make it easy for them to do their job.”
Kompany, who played for Manchester City for 11 seasons, said he had always considered English refereeing to be the best in the world, but this season’s experience raises questions.
“I felt like there was always an attempt to apply common sense,” he added. “If you make a mistake we all laugh about it and usually the traditional view is that over the course of a season everything will sort itself out.”
“This year I didn’t feel like that. Where we are in the league doesn’t really matter to me, that’s not the focus of this conversation.
“I’m not afraid to say it. I saw the interview with my colleague (Sheffield United manager) Chris Wilder, which I really like and really respect, and he said he was a hard-working Yorkshireman, he didn’t want to be punished anymore.
“I have no problems with a fine. I just want it to be right. It’s not something I say vindictively, you can tell I’m not even that angry anymore. We just have to do it right, but at this point we haven’t done it.”
Despite playing shorthanded for more than half of Saturday’s game at Stamford Bridge, Burnley twice came from behind to secure a point they might have won in the end.
Having picked up five points from their last three games, Burnley head into Tuesday’s game against Wolves with renewed hope that they can still achieve great success as they are four points ahead of safety with eight games to go.
“All we ask is to have a chance,” Kompany said. “If we only have one chance by the end of the season, that’s enough for us. It’s about putting ourselves in a position where we give ourselves a chance…
“It’s difficult to get through the season we’ve been through and still be a team at the end, still be a team as players, as a team. But I think we are.
“Whatever happens in the next eight games, whether we win all eight games or lose all eight, that will not change and that will be the basis for next season.”
