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."
Handball not deliberate
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."
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