Preston North End forward Milutin Osmajic has been charged by the FA following a breach of FA Rule E3 with it alleged ‘that the forward acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words towards an opposing player’.
Osmajic was accused of making a racist comment during Preston and Burnley’s 0-0 draw in the Championship last month by former Manchester United star Hannibal Mejbri.
Uncomfortable scenes saw the two players exchange words in the 56th minute of the game, with Mejbri facing away from Osmajic until reacting, seemingly to something that was said, and issuing a complaint.
Mejbri spoke to the referee, manager Scott Parker and other players, with the incident noted and a meeting held after the game. Osmajic denies the claim, Preston have announced, but Mejbri took to social media to continue his accusation.
Burnley players snubbed shaking hands with Montenegrin Osmajic before their FA Cup fifth-round tie two weeks later. Osmajic scored in the game and mocked Burnley fans in his celebration.
Now, the 25-year-old has officially been charged by the FA, with the organisation saying it is ‘further alleged that this constitutes an “aggravated breach”, which is defined in FA Rule E3.2, as it includes a reference, whether express or implied, to colour and/or race’.
‘I will not be silent about what happened today,’ Hannibal wrote on social media after the first match, in which the incident took place, on February 15. ‘I will always call out racism whenever I hear or see it.
‘That is the only way we change as a sport and a society. I am a strong person but nobody should have to experience this disgusting abuse on the pitch.’
Osmajic ‘has strongly refuted the claims of a comment made towards Hannibal Mejbri in a post-match meeting with today’s match officials’, Preston have said. He has until March 25 to respond.
They added: ‘Preston North End are aware of a complaint that has been made by Hannibal Mejbri and Burnley FC to today’s match officials with regards to an allegation of a comment made by Milutin Osmajic during today’s Sky Bet Championship fixture at Deepdale.
‘The club would like to thank the match officials for the way they have handled the issue and will assist with the investigation until a conclusion has been found. No further comment will be made at this time.’
Parker, meanwhile, told Sky Sports after the game: ‘I think something was said, I’m not going to go through the detail of what was said but something has been said to Hannibal and he has reported that and the officials have taken down what was reported.
He added: ‘The boy was hurt at that moment in time and he was emotional. There is no real understanding sometimes of situations. I get the emotion of games and sometimes you need to sit down and have a little think. At that moment everyone is heated, including fans, and I was just trying to say calm down.
‘The officials did a brilliant job in terms of what happened. It’s difficult in a stadium full of people and what took place, no one heard that. The officials went through a process and did well with that.’
Before the second game, meanwhile, footage showed Osmajic holding an outstretched hand to the Clarets starting eleven, but a handshake was not taken up.
After being snubbed by the first couple of Burnley players, Osmajic was seen withdrawing his hand and continued to walk down the line while his Preston team-mates shook hands with the Burnley players.
Parker revealed post-match that Burnley players had been behind the decision not to shake hands with Osmajic and supported their move.
Preston would go on to claim a shock 3-0 win over Burnley in the all-Championship clash, with Osmajic scoring the hosts second goal in the 44th minute.
Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom said he had held talks with Osmajic before the match to decide whether the forward wanted to play.
‘If he wouldn’t have been up for it [he would have been left out],’ Heckingbottom told the BBC. ‘He was fine – he wanted to be involved. We discussed possible things that could happen.’
Parker, meanwhile, revealed Hannibal’s absence for Burnley was his decision: ‘As I said earlier in the week in the press conference, fundamentally I need to protect Hannibal and making sure of the right decision,’ he said.
‘It has been a tough decision and we come here a bit weakened today because Hannibal is a vitally important member of this squad, and I felt it was the best decision for Hannibal.
‘I wouldn’t want to put him in a situation here, so we have made the decision for the best for Hannibal. That is why he is not in the matchday squad.
‘It was mainly my decision. Hannibal was selectable today but he is a young boy that experienced something here only a few weeks ago and I just made that decision to keep him out of here and we have another game on Tuesday.’
Earlier this season, Osmajic was banned for eight games after biting Owen Beck’s neck in a game against Blackburn.
Osmajic received a yellow card, for dissent during the incident – Beck was sent off for kicking out – and Osmajic was later banned and fined £15,000.
Mejbri, meanwhile, joined Burnley in the summer and has gone onto make 27 appearances for Parker’s side.
He played 13 times for Manchester United, scoring once, having graduated their academy.
The midfielder had spent time on loan at Birmingham City and Sevilla in Spain while at United, before making the permanent move to the Championship outfit.