Pompey boss left ‘baffled’ by key refereeing decision

John Mousinho was left “baffled” by the decision to rule out a Portsmouth goal during their goalless draw with Burnley.

Gregoire Coudert was slightly fortunate to get away with a poor punch, which landed straight at the feet of Marlon Pack.

The Pompey man immediately lobbed the ball up and over the stricken Clarets goalkeeper and into the back of his empty net.

But the referee quickly blew for a foul, adjudging Portsmouth’s Ryan Kavuma-McQueen to have obstructed Coudert as he came to punch a cross.

“I was really baffled by that at the time,” Mousinho said.

“I've watched it back as well. I might be watching it back with porcelain-tinted glasses, but I just can't see how on earth that's been given as a foul.

“I don’t know [what Kavuma-McQueen is meant to do], I’m not sure. We talk about it forever and a day in terms of goalkeepers and their protection. The goalkeeper's gone for the ball. He's punched it, which is what he's trying to do, and then…yes, that was obviously one of many frustrations I had on the day.”

Despite his anger with the referee, Mousinho remained happy with the end result.

His Pompey side failed to register a shot on target, while the Clarets largely dominated, producing 18 shots on goal.

“I'm pleased with the point,” he added.

“We've come to Turf Moor, I think, the whole week in the context of the week, Burnley not having won it for over a year, new manager coming in, the jubilation around that, the atmosphere at the start of the game.

“It's one of those that was almost set up before for that resounding home victory, so I'm really pleased that we've dealt with that, come away with a point on a day where we weren't really at it, especially in the first half.

“So yes, I think we'll take the point and move on. I think Burnley will beat plenty of sides here.”