Burnley advanced to the third round of the Carabao Cup yesterday evening with a penalty shoot-out triumph over Sheffield United but Sean Dyche had one major bone of contention after the game.
The Clarets’ evening was marred by an injury to Johann Berg Gudmundsson, who was on the receiving end of a reckless tackle from Jack Robinson which led to the Iceland winger needing oxygen and being substituted after just 15 minutes of play (as per Lancashire Telegraph).
Gudmundsson’s involvement last season was heavily curtailed by injuries and he even opted out of his country’s recent UEFA Nations League fixtures in order to be as fit as possible for the start of the club campaign.
However, he is now set for another spell on the sidelines after he was challenged by Robinson, who caught the 29-year-old from behind with a knee-high challenge that upended the Burnley winger, who left the field on a stretcher.
Incredibly, the Sheffield United man escaped any sanction from referee Paul Tierney, much to the fury of Dyche, who told Sky Sports after the game: “In my day that was standard and every week, but nowadays it’s unacceptable. The linesman is four or five yards from it and gives nothing, the ref gives nothing and we haven’t got VAR. If you look at it back, it would be a card in anyone’s book.
“I thought it was a bizarre game from the officials, one minute they’re giving (a free-kick) for a tiny touch in the back and then that challenge, it was almost nothing. A foul and that was it. You’re scratching your head when you see it back. Having seen it back, it’s a really bad challenge, he should have been red carded.”
This comes as yet another unfortunate setback for Gudmundsson, who has a tough few months trying to recover from injury, and it also does Dyche and Burnley absolutely no favours.
Already hamstrung with the joint-smallest squad in the Premier League (24 players) and having been deprived of three men already, the Iceland international’s injury leaves the Clarets without a recognised right winger for their upcoming fixtures, with Dyche confirming afterwards that the 29-year-old had twisted his knee and will be out for more than “a matter of days”.
That regrettable incident certainly took some of the sheen off an otherwise satisfying result for Burnley in their first competitive game of 2020/21.
Burnley fans, were you raging that Robinson wasn’t sent off for his tackle on Gudmundsson? Comment below with your views!
