Burnley supporters marked their club's return to the Premier League in grim fashion Friday night.
The 3-0 defeat to Man City was the predictable part. Burnley fans celebrated the occasion by booing players taking a knee before kickoff, which is an old favourite at Turf Moor. Man City's Rico Lewis was also hit on the head by a lighter tossed from the terraces. A pitch invader had to be restrained by security in the 86th minute of the game.
Welcome back to the big time, lads. Turf Moor does not evoke the same romanticism of Elland Road or Bramall Lane or other grounds that have come back onto the Premier League circuit in recent years; Burnley's return to the Premier League instead presents reminders of the uglier aspects of football support in England. A City-Burnley tie in 2020 featured a Burnley fan flying in an airplane above the Etihad, with a 'White Lives Matter' banner in tow.
Vincent Kompany responds to Burnley supporters who booed taking the knee
The club are extremely lucky to have Vincent Kompany on their payroll. Kompany is one of the most articulate young managers in the game and he wasn't phased at all by a question about the behaviour of his own supporters tonight during a post-match interview on Sky Sports.
Kompany was asked about the booing of both teams taking the knee. Other managers would have happily batted the question back but credit to Kompany for saying the booing wasn't good enough, however he qualified that criticism by saying he's seen definite progress in his short time at the club.
He said:
Let's be honest, it's not something new. It's not something that's happened for the first time. So of course I can't be happy with it, I'm not. I think the colour of my skin should make it clear, as well, why. But in the end, the amount of people that booed is a lot, a lot less than it used to be.
I just believe in time, and working together. These people are part of our family, no matter what, and we have to change the mentalities. I'm not going to be throwing the stone because I know that it was a lot worse. A period of time has gone by, and it's a fraction of what it used to be. Not good enough, but progress, like this team.
Burnley manager Vincent Kompany responds to some supporters booing players taking the knee prior to kick-off. pic.twitter.com/WsrF3avA9T
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 11, 2023
Credit to Kompany for both the honest answer, and the link back to his club's own performance tonight. They're in safe hands under his tutelage. It'll be fascinating to see just how much he can change at Burnley before he embarks on the next stage of his managerial career.
Burnley were quick to issue a statement regarding the supporter who threw a lighter at Lewis.
We are aware of an incident that happened in the first half of the match where a missile was thrown at Manchester City player Rico Lewis. This is unacceptable.
“The person responsible has been identified and removed from the ground by the police.”
“Any individual found guilty of throwing missiles within the stadium will receive a banning order.”
