Milutin Osmajic – the man at the centre of the race row with Burnley’s Hannibal – has given his version of events of last season’s incident.
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Four months on, Osmajic has yet to discover if he will face any punishment.
Now, with the charge still hanging over him, the 25-year-old has spoken for the first time about the racism allegations.
“There was some scuffle,” Osmajic recalled. “The goalkeeper kicked the ball out. I’m running, I couldn’t catch up to it. Before that, he kind of pushed me a little. I turn around. I thought he’s mocking me, you know. I’m like going after him.
“He already caught me, and immediately it goes through my head - the problem I had before. I said I won’t react, I won’t do anything. I’m like ‘f*** you, bad man’. I come up to him and I keep going. I didn’t turn around.
“Suddenly, chaos. The goalkeeper approaches: ‘You’re like a racist! You’re this and that. Now the game is over.’ The assistant coach comes behind me and says: ‘Now, shower up, wait for the referee.’
Osmajic is still waiting to hear the outcome of his FA charge (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)placeholder image
Osmajic is still waiting to hear the outcome of his FA charge (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
“When they finish with him first: ‘We can’t put you two together’. I said: ‘That's better’. I don’t know, me and the referees and the players, what could happen. Nothing... I wait there. All the players come up: ‘What did you say to him?’
“I said: ‘Leave me alone already. Do you believe me or what? Well, leave me alright’. To everyone who came close I said: ‘f*** off’. I shower up, and this other assistant coach approaches and says: ‘Look, the referee.’ I’m there...
“He takes the referee, talks about this and that minute. I asked, ‘Can I say what I told him?’ I say nicely what I said. ‘Didn’t you say what he said?’ I said ‘No! Am I finished?’
“I pick up my stuff, go home calmly, I get home, eat... Instagram rings and rings. Message, those requests, you just see it growing. I block, remove, then it gets removed then back again. I locked my profile. I said ‘to hell with it’.”
Speaking on social media after the game, Hannibal said “he will not be silent” and promised to “always call out racism” whenever he heard it.
In a statement, PNE said Osmajic strongly refutes the claims.
Burnley returned to Deepdale two weeks on from their league game when they faced their Lancashire rivals in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Osmajic started the game and scored during Preston’s 3-0 win, celebrating in front of the away end after Burnley’s players had declined to shake his hand prior to kick-off.
Clarets boss Scott Parker, however, opted to leave Hannibal out of his squad to protect the 22-year-old.
The striker also received an eight-man ban last season and fined £15,000 after biting Blackburn Rovers defender Owen Beck.
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