Scott Parker admits the difficult decision to leave out Hannibal for Burnley’s return to Deepdale made him “sad”.

Scott Parker on Burnley's FA Cup defeat to Preston North End and his decision to...

The Clarets took on Preston North End away from home for the second time in the space of a fortnight on Saturday as they slumped to a 3-0 defeat in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

On the last occasion, Hannibal made an allegation of racist abuse against Preston’s Milutin Osmajic.

The Preston man, who played and scored during Saturday’s game, denies the claims. An FA investigation is ongoing.

Parker, however, opted to leave Hannibal out of his squad altogether to protect his player from what was a hostile derby atmosphere.

Addressing his decision, Parker said: “Hannibal was in a good frame of mind. There was an opportunity to play him and I made the conscious decision not to.

“I made the decision to take him out of that situation. There's a live investigation going on now and there's not been a conclusion to it.

PRESTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 15: Scott Parker, Manager of Burnley and Hannibal Mejbri of Burnley react towards Andrew Hughes and Freddie Woodman of Preston North End after an incident between Hannibal Mejbri of Burnley and Milutin Osmajic of Preston North End (not pictured) during the Sky Bet Championship match between Preston North End FC and Burnley FC at Deepdale on February 15, 2025 in Preston, England. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

placeholder image — PRESTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 15: Scott Parker, Manager of Burnley and Hannibal Mejbri of Burnley react towards Andrew Hughes and Freddie Woodman of Preston North End after an incident between Hannibal Mejbri of Burnley and Milutin Osmajic of Preston North End (not pictured) during the Sky Bet Championship match between Preston North End FC and Burnley FC at Deepdale on February 15, 2025 in Preston, England. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

“I didn't want to put Hannibal in a situation which is still up in the air. He's coming to an away stadium and maybe facing the allegations are obviously against, as well as a fanbase where people are making their minds up whether it was or whether it wasn't.

“My decision, which took me a long time, was one where I just wanted to protect Hannibal and I think it's sad. The fact that Hannibal has had to miss out today makes me sad.

“That was constantly the decision I kept throwing back and forth in my head. Why is that? Is that the right thing to do? But fundamentally I came to the decision just to protect him.”

As Preston celebrated their commanding lead late into the game, the home fans directed some of their chants towards the missing midfielder.

When asked if those chants vindicated his decision not to pick Hannibal, Parker added: “I think that's why it just makes me sad really.

“I’m sure Hannibal would have been fine but I've been around football a long time and I understand the feelings of a fanbase. I didn't want to put him in this situation.

“I'm not sure it vindicated what I've said because I'm sure there's another side where he’s lost out on playing in a cup tie.

“But that’s a decision you have to make and I made it from fundamentally a place of wanting to protect a young boy who has not experienced this before.”

Burnley’s players also made their stance clear before the game even kicked off when they opted to ignore Osmajic during the pre-match handshakes.

“The players decided, I wasn’t involved in that,” Parker said. “The players decided that was the stance they were going to take and I was fully supportive of that when I found out.

“If that's the decision this group wanted to take out of support and with more of an understanding of the situation, that's the decision they made and I was fully supportive of that.”