During the Lancashire derby that took place on Saturday, Hannibal Mejbri and Milutin Osmajic of Preston North End were involved in an incident. Burnley has issued a statement in response to this incident.
Hannibal, who was visibly showing signs of emotion, made his way over to the Deepdale dugout at the beginning of the second half in order to voice his displeasure with a comment that was made by Osmajic.
An “inappropriate” comment was made towards the former Manchester United midfielder, who was left “very distressed” by the incident, according to Burnley manager Scott Parker, who made the statement after the final whistle blew.
During the interview that took place after the match, Parker responded by saying, “It was just something that was said to Hannibal, something inappropriate which he’s reported.”
“At that very moment, it was abundantly clear that he was experiencing a great deal of distress, and we made an effort to first obtain some background information regarding the events that had transpired, as he was obviously very emotional. We made an effort to obtain some background information on the events that took place.
Parker continued by saying, “He explained to me what was said, and at that moment, it was just a matter of finding out how he is, where he was in his headspace, and what he wanted us to do.”
“It will be sent down to the processing stage now, so we’ll see what happens.” On the other hand, I thought the officials did an excellent job in terms of how they handled the situation. In my opinion, they were on the money. I believed that the manner in which they dealt with it and took care of the entire situation was of the highest possible quality.
Following the completion of a permanent transfer to Burnley in August of the previous year, Hannibal has since taken to X, which was formerly known as Twitter, in order to deliver a statement of his own.
In his letter, he stated, “I will not remain silent about what occurred today.” Whenever I come across or encounter racist behaviour, I will never hesitate to speak out against it. The only way for us to evolve as a society and as a sport is through changing.
The player, who is 22, stated: “I am a strong person but nobody should have to experience this disgusting abuse on the pitch.”
Another statement that Burnley has issued in response to the incident can be found here.
The following is what it said: “Burnley Football Club is aware of an alleged comment made to Hannibal by Milutin Osmajic during our game against Preston North End. This comment was reported to officials both during the game and after the game.”
It was during the second half that Hannibal brought the comment that has been lodged with the referee, Andrew Kitchen, to the attention of the referee. The event was handled in a professional manner by the officials, and the Club would like to express their gratitude for that.
“The Club will continue to show its complete support to Hannibal and there will be no further comment made until the investigation has been completed.”
The decision to replace Hannibal with Josh Brownhill was explained by Parker after the game. Despite the fact that Hannibal would continue to play after the incident, Josh Brownhill would eventually take his place.
In addition, Parker stated that “He did not want to come off.” “However, it is very clear that I was awake. As a coach, this is the very first time that something like this has ever occurred to me. This kind of incident has never occurred to me, nor have I ever been involved in a player reporting to me.
“There were a lot of things that were operating in my head at the time. But he responded in the appropriate manner, taking into consideration what was said.
“I wouldn’t want to get involved in that,” Parker said in response to the question of whether or not he was able to repeat what had been said. It is abundantly clear to me that you have some comprehension associated with the subject matter.
“All I know is what Hannibal said to me, and I’ve been working with Hannibal for seven months now. Don’t get me wrong, he’s an emotional guy, but he’s a diamond of a kid and he’s not a liar. I’ve been working with Hannibal for seven months.
“What he heard and what he has repeated back to me is something… there is something that you do not want to see,” the speaker said.
Following the blow of the full-time whistle, Paul Heckingbottom, the manager of Preston, issued a statement regarding the incident that involved Milutin Osmajic.
According to him, “From our vantage point up there, it appeared as though there was some kind of accusation against Milly, regardless of whether or not he has said anything.”
“It appeared as though the referee handled the situation well in terms of the procedures, what was supposed to take place, and he managed to keep everything under control. Consequently, I am not aware of the reason for it, but it appeared that the referee handled everything in a satisfactory manner.
Just like you guys, I’m seeing the same thing. I have not communicated with the referee; I have not communicated with anyone other than our staff, and I am not so certain that anyone down there was aware of what happened.
“Milly could have been yelling in any language under the sun… shouting anything when you’ve heard him ranting,” the speaker said. Therefore, anyone could have been the culprit.
