On Friday Neil Warnock was charged by the Football Association for claiming that the Premier League’s officials were the ‘worst in the world’.
He may extend that description to include the universe and black hole after his side were again hit by yet another controversial decision.
Seconds after the break, with the hosts leading this relegation scrap 1-0 thanks to Chris Wood’s header, Clarets defender Ben Mee appeared to handle the ball not once but twice in his own area.
In the dying minutes of added time Chris Wood was tasked with the simple exercise of heading the ball home from close by
Wood tapped the ball home to score his and Burnley's second goal and secure a crucial 2-0 victory for the Clarets
Earlier, Wood had rose between the Cardiff defenders to get his head to the ball and open the scoring for Burnley
The Cardiff defenders watched on as Wood's header flicked through the bodies and made its way into the back of the net
Having had his attention alerted by assistant referee Darren Cann, Mike Dean gave a penalty. The Welsh side had a ray of hope. It did not last long. Dean was not convinced and, after a long consultation with his assistant, the referee decided to overturn the decision.
Warnock went wild, and not in a good way. The aggrieved Bluebirds manager remonstrated with fourth official Anthony Taylor to no avail. That FA hearing should be lively.
Such decisions have not been strangers for Cardiff this season. While whataboutery is a fool’s game, they can only wonder what may have been. This avoidable defeat leaves them five points adrift and seemingly doomed. No such worries for Burnley.
Before the match, Clarets officials put thousands of flags on seats for their supporters. After Wood’s second ended the contest they can pretty much wave the threat of relegation goodbye.
BURNLEY: Heaton 6; Lowton 6, Tarkowski 7, Mee 6.5, Taylor 7; Hendrick 6.5, Westwood 5.5, Cork 6, McNeil 7; Barnes 6.5, Wood 7.5
SUBS UNUSED: Gudmundsson, Brady, Gibson, Hart, Ward, Vydra, Long
BOOKED: Tarkowski, Barnes
GOAL: Wood 31', 90+3
MANAGER: Sean Dyche 7
CARDIFF: Etheridge 6.5; Peltier 6, Morrison 6, Manga 6, Bennett 6.5; Gunnarsson 6.5, Arter 7 (Reid 80); Hoilett 5 (Mendez-Laing 73, 5), Camarasa 5.5, Murphy 6.5; Zohore 6 (Niasse 78, 5)
SUBS UNUSED: Ralls, Bacuna, Cunningham, Brian Murphy
BOOKED: Peltier, Bennett
MANAGER: Neil Warnock 6
REFEREE: Mike Dean (Wirral) 5
Chris Wood opened the scoring for Burnley against Cardiff. CLICK HERE for more from MATCH ZONE
The hosts started strongly almost had the lead on two minutes when Dwight McNeil’s free-kick was inadvertently nodded to Chris Wood by Cardiff captain Sean Morrison. With the goal at his mercy and around four yards out Wood could only hit a post with his header.
Warnock’s
