Milutin Osmajic: Burnley players refuse handshake with Preston striker amid racism row
Before the game, Burnley manager Scott Parker confirmed Hannibal was suitable, but he chose to abandon Tunisian midfielder to protect him from the spotlight.
Parker told BBC iPlayer before the kickoff: “As I said earlier in the press conference, fundamentally, I need to protect Hannibal and make sure the right decisions are made.
“It was a tough decision and we were here today a bit weakened because Hannibal is a crucial member of this team and I think it was Hannibal’s best decision.
“I don’t want to put him in the situation here, so we made the best decision for Hannibal. That’s why he’s not on the matchday team.”
Asked if the decision was made after talking to Hannibal, Parker said: “It was mostly my decision. Hannibal was a choice today, but he was a little boy who had only been here a few weeks ago and I just made the decision to keep him away from here and we had another game on Tuesday.”
The Football Association (FA) is currently investigating the incident between Osmajik and Hannibal. If found guilty, Osmajik will face a ban on a minimum of six games.
Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom said he hadn’t considered the idea of keeping Osmajic out. Heckingbottom was asked at his pre-match media conference if he was taking the “innocent until proven guilty” approach: “Yes, it’s exactly 100%.
