Burnley boss Vincent Kompany provides measured response to red card and penalty drama during Chelsea draw

The Clarets boss was unable to partake in his post-match press duties at Stamford Bridge on Saturday after being sent off for his remonstrations following Lorenz Assignon’s harsh dismissal.

The Frenchman was shown a second yellow card by referee Darren England after being adjudged to have fouled Mykhailo Mudryk inside the box, despite there appearing to be minimal contact.

Cole Palmer dispatched the resulting penalty, but Burnley somehow found a way to fight back with 10 men to draw 2-2.

Commenting on the controversy for the first time ahead of Burnley’s clash with Wolves on Tuesday night, Kompany said: “I obviously slightly disagreed with the on-field decision!

“Look, I think after the game it’s important to say I did go and see the officials to apologise about the choice of words. My intention was definitely not to say or suggest that an official would get in his car on the day of a game and come with the intention to referee against a team. That wasn’t my intention.

“But the frustration comes from the fact it’s been a succession of mistakes and it’s always debatable.

“When it’s one game or one event, it’s always debatable. Just like this one could be debatable, but less so than other cases I think but you can always debate. But for us it’s the succession of it and the effects on points and the effects on our season. All of that gives you a feeling, it makes you more angry when the next one comes.

“I will have to do my best, I just hope it doesn’t happen again this season.”

Kompany has often been outspoken about the standard of officiating in the Premier League this season and, following Saturday’s dubious dismissal, he’s repeated that message.

“I will keep saying what I think, I’m not going to shy away from it,” he added.

“I said it to the referees themselves, the officials and I’ve said it to all the responsibles that I thought refereeing has not been good enough this season. I’ve said it in a constructive way I think, understanding as well it’s not easy for them, the scrutiny is massive, the pressure is bigger than it’s ever been on officials.

“The addition of VAR, more opinions, more officials, it doesn’t make it easy for them to do their jobs so that’s something I absolutely take into consideration.

“But I’ve said it before both last year and at the beginning of the season, for me English refereeing was the best in the world. Always. The reason being because it was always the league of common sense.

“Of course you make a mistake and you have a laugh about it and usually the traditional saying was ‘it evens itself out over the course of a season’. But this year I haven’t felt like this.

“Where we are in the league doesn’t really matter for me, it’s not in that conversation. It’s just when I draw back to my years of experience, either sharing the pitch with the officials or now talking to them, there’s a lack of consistency and there’s probably a bit of reflection needed to ensure the standards improve for the good of our game.

“I’m not afraid to say it in that sense because I saw the interview of my colleague Chris Wilder who I’m really fond of and really respect. He said he’s a hard-working Yorkshireman and he doesn’t want to be fined anymore.

“I don’t have any issues with being fined, I just want it to be right. It’s not something I say in a vindictive way, you can see I’m not even as angry anymore. It’s more we just have to get it right and at this moment in time it’s falling short.”

When asked if he intends to speak to PGMOL chief Howard Webb, Kompany continued: “I can do but I have done already. It’s not something you solve in one go.

“I’m saying it in this way because we were in the Championship last year and I had a stronger reference point - and they made mistakes and we had managers and moments where people complained as well - but I felt like the reference point was a lot clearer, if that makes sense.

“It felt a lot more like what I experienced in the 11 years I played in the Premier League. It felt a lot more like the flow of the game, the flow of the decisions, the intention behind decisions, I could reference it back to all the things I experienced over so many years of my career.

“This season that hasn’t been the case and I have stated that.”

Kompany, who expects to be on the touchline against Wolves despite his red, finished by praising his players’ response to the cruel setback.

“I think everything was said by Bellers [his assistant Craig Bellamy] after the game, we all felt very proud after the game but they’ve done what we know they can do,” he said.“Every single time we’ve had a tough time or are in a tough spot, you see they respond by working hard and going again and showing belief.

“We will carry on like this. We would have liked to have played this game with 11 men, but it shows what this team is about and we carry on.”