Shocked Clarets boss Kompany blasts Luton's controversial equaliser as 'a joke'

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany labelled the fact Luton’s injury time equaliser was allowed to stand as ‘a joke’ as the Hatters earned a last-gasp point at Turf Moor yesterday evening.

With five minutes of stoppage time winding down at the visitors trailing 1-0, Alfie Doughty pumped one last cross into the box which saw Clarets keeper James Trafford advance off his line to try and claim the ball. However, he collided with Town striker Elijah Adebayo, falling to the floor, something he had done all night, with Carlton Morris rising highest to nod into the empty net for his fourth of the season.

The goal was given by referee Tony Harrington, as a lengthy VAR check followed, the officials at Stockley Park seeing no reason to disallow the goal, ensuring Town claimed a huge point in their battle to stay up. Speaking afterwards, Kompany said: “What are we doing? Seriously, It's a joke, it's a joke. I will start by saying this, 100 percent respect and credit to Luton, because they're a terrific, terrific outfit. What they do as a club, the players, the manager, they deserve whatever’s coming to them, they’re really, really, really a good club.

"In that phase, I’ve just got to defend my team, my club, but I don’t understand, I really don’t understand how we can go through this phase, go through these events and not come to the conclusion that it’s a foul. You’ve got a striker and good luck to him, he first looked at the goalkeeper, has a look at the goalkeeper, takes a couple of steps back, backs into him, clears the way for his colleague, then he has a look at the referee to see if he gets away with it.

"From the side I was just complaining as I say to myself, if I don’t complain, they might get away with this, you never know, but thinking in my head, surely that’s going to be obviously given as foul. I’m seeing the VAR's not intervening, not sorting it out, I’m seeing the ref’s having a think about it and I can see it’s going to go clear and obvious error again and we’re going to have that same discussion that we have every single time.

“I don’t get it anymore. There’s a clear attempt to stop the keeper getting up. It’s experience as well, and it doesn’t take anything away from the performance from Luton who were incredible, but it’s just a moment where the referee has got to get it right.

“I think any ex-pro will say they understand what the striker is doing in this case, clearing the room for the other striker. First I expect the referee to see it. None of the Luton players have celebrated. Nobody. The first look of the striker is to James Trafford and the second one is to the referee to see if he got away with it.

“Normally we have VAR and we think ‘okay, that’s going to sort it out then’ but it rolls, it rolls and it rolls, there’s a lack of a decision and it’s 1-1. What do you think he’s looking at? He’s looking at the keeper, takes two steps back to back into him. What is it? To be honest, I’m absolutely fine if we concede this goal and it’s consistent and this is allowed. If everyone can do it I’ll tell my strikers to go and do it.

"It’s not all bad and I appreciate that. I want people to understand how this is against my nature to complain about such things, I want to get on with the game, play football and I want to tell my lads when they do a bad job and when they do a good job.”