Zola suggests Chelsea to report Burnley after Sarri was allegedly 'offended'

Burnley may find itself in trouble with the Football Association as Maurizio Sarri was "offended" by the club, according to Gianfranco Zola.

Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri was sent off to the stands.   -  Getty Images

Chelsea assistant coach Gianfranco Zola implied the club will report Burnley to the Football Association (FA) after its coaching staff allegedly "offended" Maurizio Sarri in Monday's 2-2 draw.

An entertaining contest ended with fractious scenes, as a scuffle on the pitch saw several players get involved and it ended with a Mateo Kovacic booking.

Chelsea boss Sarri was subsequently given his marching orders after he had walked down the touchline, seemingly trying to talk to his players during the previous fracas.

READ | David Luiz accuses Burnley of playing 'anti-football'

The tension boiled over again at full-time as players and coaches headed towards the tunnel, with Antonio Rudiger – who did not play for Chelsea during the game – appearing to be particularly irritated by something.

Sarri subsequently refused to fulfil his post-match media duties due to his mental state, with Zola revealing the Chelsea head coach was angry about something that was said to him by someone on the Burnley bench.

"The reason [for Sarri not showing up after the game] is he's very frustrated, so he'd prefer not to come over here," Zola told a news conference.

"He's been sent off. I think he's been offended as well, so he didn't feel it was the right thing to do, to speak to you [the media].

"I know you wanted him, so I'm sorry, but you can understand. He's frustrated at the game, frustrated at being sent off, and the other thing. He'd prefer not to come in.

"I think he's been told something from their bench, but don't ask me exactly what. I don't want to go down that line, but we'll see what we can do about that.

"I think there will be a follow[-up] on that. Maurizio felt very unhappy. We understand it's a football game.

"You say words because of the adrenalin, but he wasn't particularly happy. If Maurizio said that, probably it's something that could have been avoided."

Zola also claimed Sarri's sending off came as a result of a misunderstanding.

"It's normal that there's a lot of passion in it," he said. "We wanted to win, they didn't want to lose.

"It's normal to have tension. Maurizio has been sent off while trying to help. He went down there to help Kevin [Friend, the referee] and tell our players to get into position, but he was sent off."

  Dugout videos