10 months ago
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Burnley’s former NFL player co-owner JJ Watt found himself falling foul of Premier League rules as he ranted online about Friday night’s 1-1 draw with Luton.
The American, a minority investor in the Turf Moor club, had one of his social media accounts suspended after posting raw match footage to complain about a dubious decision that cost the Clarets big.
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Many Burnley fans would have felt Vincent Kompany’s men were robbed of all three points after a controversial stoppage-time equaliser from Luton’s Carlton Morris meant the points were shared.
Morris’ header was allowed to stand after a VAR check, with Elijah Adebayo appearing to stop Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford from getting to the ball before the Hatters ace nodded in.
Clarets players immediately appealed to the referee, and they were not alone, with Watt posting his furious response on social media.
“I’m new to this ownership thing, so if I get fined by the Premier League, so be it,” wrote the former Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals player, who was forced to retire from American football in 2022 due to a heart condition.
“This is as blatant and obvious of a foul as you could have. To miss this on the field AND miss this on VAR is truly disgraceful.”
Watt also posted a video of the incident using raw Premier League footage, which is against league rules.
Club owners are granted access to a live match feed to watch their side’s games, but the match was on Sky Sports and only broadcasters have the right to share footage online (and they pay good money for it).
Within 30 minutes his video had been blocked and his account suspended for copyright infringement.
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He then posted the message he received from X with the caption: “That was quick.”
Dude Perfect - the group of college roommates turned internet superstars for their sport-based trick shot videos, and also investors in Burnley - had earlier replied to Watt’s original Tweet.
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Although they were wiser not to post footage of the event, it appears the YouTube troop were the side of the ex-NFL star and angry Clarets fans.
“Keeping our tweets in the drafts, but 100 per cent,” they wrote on their X page.
And you can understand their fury, as drawing what was a must-win game for Burnley could have major repercussions for their Premier League status.
Although both clubs remain in the bottom-three, the draw meant Luton climbed four points above Kompany’s side to go level with 17th-placed Everton.
And the Turf Moor boss was raging after the final whistle.
“I don’t get it anymore,” said Kompany. “There is a clear attempt to stop the goalkeeper coming out. The referee has got to get it right.
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“What are we doing, seriously? It’s a joke. I don’t understand how we can go through those events and not come to the conclusion it’s a foul. We have a striker who has first looked at the goalkeeper, then taken a couple of steps back and backed into him to clear space for his colleague.
“The ball goes in and none of the Luton players are celebrating. Nobody. I was complaining but I was thinking that’s going to be given a foul. But then I realised it was going to VAR and come to the ‘clear and obvious error’ again.
“Luckily, we have VAR so we think, ‘Okay, that’s going to sort it out’, but it rolls and rolls and lack of decision and then it’s 1–1. How many times is it going to keep happening? Maybe we will get a couple of lines in a newspaper or a feature on one of those things when they explain a referee’s decision. But the consequences are zero.
“We will go back to worrying about what Man United and Liverpool are doing and we move on. But I can’t give an explanation to my players as to what happened tonight. Come on boys!”
