Everything Paul Heckingbottom and Scott Parker said on Milutin Osmajic and Hannibal Mejbri ahead of Preston North End vs Burnley

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom says he will ‘100 per cent’ view Milutin Osmajic as innocent until proven guilty.

This weekend sees PNE host Burnley in the fifth round of the FA Cup - with a quarter-final place up for grabs between the two Lancashire rivals. In the last meeting, a fortnight ago at Deepdale, the Preston striker was accused of racism by Clarets midfielder Hannibal Mejbri.

During the second half of the goalless draw, the match was halted after Burnley’s number 28 reacted strongly to something said by Osmajic. He took to social media post-match and made racism allegations against the Montenegro international. The FA’s investigation into the incident is ongoing.

A few days after the encounter Heckingbottom labelled some of the things posted online as ‘nonsense’. Speaking on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s match he confirmed a serious one-on-one conversation with Osmajic has taken place, to gain an understanding of his player’s side of events. He also reiterated frustration at some of the public discourse.

“My problem with what happened and a lot of the fall out, or people's comments afterwards, were I think it belittles what is a serious incident,” said Heckingbottom. “On both sides, in terms of allegations of what's been said and what potentially has been said.

“It's serious. I wasn't pitch side; I wasn't down there afterwards but saw Scott's interview afterwards. I thought he spoke really well in front of some poor questioning, in my opinion.

“And he spoke about how important the situation was, but he also kept it there. A lot of people have them agendas; people not understanding the situation. If they want to do that they can, but it's a game of football for us now. That situation has been and gone.

“People are dealing with it and it needs to be dealt with but for this game, it's a different game, an FA Cup game. If it does add a bit of spice to the atmosphere I welcome that, totally. But that's all it should add, so we'll look forward to see what atmosphere that brings.”

Parker weighing up Hannibal selection

The Burnley boss was commended for his responses post-match at Deepdale. The welfare and mental state of Hannibal has been a priority for Parker ever since. He admitted in his pre-match press conference that a decision on whether to start the player had not been made.

“I understand the allegation and the seriousness of it,” said Parker. “I suppose me sitting in my position, I'm very conscious, first and foremost, of just Hannibal the player. That's my main focus and has been my main focus since the incident took place.

“He's in a great place though, he wants to play. Obviously I'm not going to discuss whether Hannibal plays or not. But the facts are, over the next 24 hours, I'll make the correct decision which I think is right in the best interest for Hannibal and the best interest for us as well.

“It’s something that I need to think long and hard about. There's two phases to this. There's one, which is fundamentally I want to protect Hannibal and I don't want to put him into a situation. But the flip side of that is why should he miss out?

“That's a decision that I'll have to make and get to. I'll make the best decision that I feel is right for Hannibal while also explaining the situations that may arise and seeing where he's comfortable. Now it's too early, but tomorrow morning and leading into the game, I'll have those conversations.”

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