Burnley boss Scott Parker tight-lipped on referee's display during Preston North End derby after picking up yellow card

Gavin Ward presided over a bitty encounter at Turf Moor on Saturday as the Clarets were held to a frustrating goalless draw against their Lancashire rivals.

While it was a feisty derby, it wasn’t overly physical or dirty, yet Ward still managed to dish out yellow bookings in total – plus another for Parker in the dugout.

Having let Preston get away with their delaying tactics during the first-half, the man in the middle appeared to lose control in the second period as things threatened to boil over, resulting in two separate melees.

The second 45 minutes were also stop-start in nature due to a number of stoppages, which inevitably affected the flow of the game.

When asked if he was frustrated by the referee’s management of the derby, Parker said: “I don’t want to get any involvement with the referee.

“It was clear that he was doing his job, if a player goes down injured, a player goes down injured, it’s something where you have to react.

“For sure though the second-half, in terms of the stoppages and how they managed the clock a little bit, that was obviously evident and key.

“When momentum was building for us there was a pause in the game, but it is what it is.”

Ward brandished a yellow card in Parker’s direction midway through the second-half after Jaidon Anthony was denied a penalty despite appearing to be pulled back inside the box.

“It was for my reaction, I think,” he said. “For the clear penalty on Jaidon, it was for my reaction to that.

“At that moment I thought it was a really clear penalty. I’ve not watched it back but I saw a blatant pull on the shirt.”

Earlier in the game Preston also appeared to be denied a fair goal after Emil Riis had beaten James Trafford after a cleverly-worked quick free-kick.

While the goal was ruled out for offside, TV replays showed the Preston man was clearly onside.