A lack of common sense from the officials left Scott Parker with a “bitter” taste in his mouth following Burnley’s pre-season defeat to Stoke City.
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The Clarets finished their penultimate friendly of the summer with 10 men after ex-Potters man Josh Laurent was dismissed for two bookable offences.
The overzealous referee Steve Martin also dished out another five bookings following a bizarre officiating display at the bet365 Stadium.
Not only was Parker disappointed to lose for the first time in pre-season, he also expressed his frustration with the man in the middle.
“I was disappointed towards the end of the game because both teams are here, Stoke as well, preparing for a week out from their season,” he told the Burnley Express.
“The whole reason we're here is for both teams to get fit, work on tactical elements and keep improving. But towards the back end of the last 30 minutes it was a bit non-existent in terms of a football sense.”
When asked if he’s ever been involved in a game with a red and so many bookings, Parker added: “No, never. I've never been involved in a friendly where there were two yellow cards in the space of 10 minutes either.
Parker's side suffered their first defeat of pre-season at the bet365 Stadium (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)placeholder image
Parker's side suffered their first defeat of pre-season at the bet365 Stadium (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
“To be quite honest with you, I just thought you set a tone, which instantly – I think that was the first thing I said to the fourth official – was that you're going down the road here of red cards.
“I get the referee's position. He had to referee it, he said, like a proper game. But then that didn't really add up with what was going on on their side as well, which was a bit inconsistent.
“But it is what it is. I'm disappointed in that because that's just a little bit of a bitter taste.”
Instead, Parker felt the referee should have applied some common sense and requested Parker to sub Laurent off rather than dismiss him.
He added: “I mean, I don't think either tackle...maybe they’re yellow cards? I get a reckless tackle, of course, then you need to punish that. But just [show] a bit of initiative really, and just tell me to bring him off.
“Even Stoke were saying: ‘look, can we let him bring another player on?’ But I get it, I understand it. I understand if that's what the referee's been told by his superiors, then I get he's petrified of not doing that.
“But just a little bit of common sense, maybe, would have been wise. Because both managers really were a little bit disappointed.”
Parker’s side were disjointed and lacked a cutting edge through the middle of the park and in the forward line, struggling to create clear-cut chances.
While the Clarets boss admitted his side looked leggy, he remained pleased to get more minutes into his players’ legs.
“We managed to get that physical demand and overall there were some nice bits,” he said.
“I thought we looked a little bit leggy though and I get that. It’s the end of a hard week.
“But overall, no injuries, which is key, and some extra minutes in the legs, 90 minutes for some as well.”
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