Dyche’s men caught up in Greek ambush
SEAN DYCHE last night accused Olympiacos of intimidating the referee as Burnley’s Europa League adventure turned sour with defeat.
The tunnel at half- time was bursting with bodies, waiting for Slavko Vincic. The Slovenian official could not have known what he was walking in on.
Olympiacos staff, substitutes, management — ‘even the tea lady,’ joked Dyche — were primed to let rip. They had been refused two debatable penalties and the minute or so of commotion underneath the Karaiskakis Stadium unquestionably changed the complexion of an extraordinary qualifying play-off first leg.
It was intimidation of an official, pure and simple. Dozens connected with Olympiacos were barracking Vincic. Burnley had gone in 1-1 at half-time. They left Piraeus having lost 3-1 and with Ben Gibson ridiculously sent off.
Little wonder Dyche was more animated than ever afterwards. Burnley were wronged and facing a huge take to qualify for the group stages next Thursday.
‘It wasn’t just the people on the bench, it was all sorts of people from the offices,’ Dyche said. ‘We are given strict guidelines from UEFA about respect towards the referees and we did what we always do — walked straight down the tunnel into our dressing room.
‘They were letting him know in no uncertain times what they felt. I feel for our fans, they have come a long way to see a balanced game and haven’t seen that. Hopefully next week will be more even.
‘The scenes I saw at half-time from all and sundry... and then things change in the second half. I’m just giving the facts as I saw them, not an opinion.’
Will UEFA act? We shall see, but sadly this all detracts from Burnley performing exceptionally for large spells. Ashley Barnes was a lion leading the line, Jack Cork everywhere in midfield, Kevin Long a last- ditch hero a number of times. Burnley stood up to Olympiacos and for long spells appeared like leaving with a result.
They went behind to a sumptuous 25-yard free-kick bent in by the terrific Kostas Fortounis after 19 minutes but Burnley were incensed that their wall was moved further than 10 yards. ‘The wall is a strange distance from the ball, I must say,’ Dyche said.
But they hit back through Chris Wood after 33 minutes. The tenacious Charlie Taylor rode two tackles in the box, the ball dropped to Wood and he felt a touch from Mohamed Camara. Vincic pointed to the spot and Wood converted into the right-hand corner.
The second Olympiacos goal came when Andreas Bouchalakis lost Cork, probably his only blemish, at a Fortounis set-piece and prodded beyond Tom Heaton, playing for the first time since last September after a dislocated shoulder. The adventure was disappearing before Burnley’s eyes and they went further behind on the hour mark. Camara’s shot from the edge of the area hit Gibson, turning his back slightly, on his arm via his ribs. A soft penalty, which Fortounis converted, but the brandishing of red for a second bookings was preposterous. Gibson looked crestfallen.
‘ We’re all left scratching our heads,’ said Dyche, who spun on his heels, staring at assistant Ian Woan with arms outstretched. The image of the night — but only because no photographers were inside the tunnel. It will not be the last we hear of that scene. OLYMPIACOS (4-2-3-1): Gianniotis 6; Elabdellaoui 6, Miranda 6, Vukovic 6.5, Tsimikas 7; Camara 6.5, Bouchalakis 6.5; Lazaros 7 (Ansarifard 84min), Fortounis 9 (Fetfatzidis 88), Podence 7; Guerrero 6.5. Subs not used: Choutesiotis, Natcho, Vrousai, Torosidis, Cisse. Scorers: Fortounis 19, 60 pen, Bouchalakis 48. Booked: Bouchalakis, Christodoulopoulos. Manager: Pedro Martins 6. BURNLEY (4-4-2): Heaton 6; Bardsley 7, Long 7, Gibson 6, Ward 6 (Lennon 66, 6.5); Gudmundsson 7 (Vokes 76), Cork7, Hendrick 6.5, Taylor 7; Barnes 8, Wood 7 (Tarkowski 62, 7). Subs not used: Hart, Lowton, Westwood, Vydra. Scorer: Wood 33 pen. Booked: Long, Gudmundsson, Taylor, Gibson. Sent off: Gibson. Manager: Sean Dyche 6. Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slo) 5. Attendance: 26,000.