Oli McBurnie makes referee confession as Hull City ace calls for more fairness

The Tigers striker got himself off the mark against Brentford last weekend

Hull City forward Oli McBurnie admits he wants referees to be a little bit fairer in his battles with various Premier League central defenders.

McBurnie feels he’s not getting the rub of the green from some match officials, which is a sentiment echoed by his manager, Sergej Jakirovic.

In the past two home games against Everton and Brentford, McBurnie has suffered a broken finger and a broken rib, having found himself on the wrong end of some pretty heavy treatment.

At half-time of Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Brentford, McBurnie was coughing up blood after being struck by Scotland teammate Aaron Hickey. That incident, like so many, according to Jakirovic, went unpunished.

That left Jakirovic frustrated, and so, too, McBurnie. And while he openly admits to playing on the edge, he would like the referee to be consistent with their decision making, rather than letting defenders get away with robust challenges, and penalising him for similar.

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“Listen, the way I play is always on the edge, you know that, and I feel like the one thing for me is probably, just the fairness of it,” McBurnie tells Hull Live as he prepares to face Ipswich Town at the MKM Stadium on Saturday.

“If we’re going into a game where some referees might like to let a bit more play, that’s fine with me as long as it works both ways, as long as if the centre half gives it to me and I can give a little bit back.

“As long as it works that way, (it’s fine). The one thing that really frustrates me is that if I get a nudge and it’s not a foul, I’ll give the centre half a nudge and it’s a foul. That’s one thing that’s very frustrating for me, I don’t really understand how that all works. That’s usually when I’ll start speaking to the ref about it.

“To be fair to the referee we had at the weekend (Rob Jones vs Brentford), he was very good, in terms of communication with me, which helped, but listen, I’m not gonna sit here and say that I’m getting tired or anything like that.

“I feel like a lot of the time, the way I play, there’s a lot of contact involved both ways, so it’s subjective in terms of the referee, and naturally, probably my face makes it easier to give the foul to the opposition than to me. A bit more help would be nice, a bit more protection would be nice, but it is what it is.”

McBurnie is perilously perched on four bookings along with teammate Matt Crooks, and he knows one more this weekend would see him miss the tantalising trip to face champions Arsenal next Saturday.

He picked up his fourth booking against Everton, and has escaped in the past two games, and admits it does have an impact on the way he plays.

“It’s not nice, it’s more just when you’re going into challenges or into aerial duels, where usually I wouldn’t be thinking about anything. You’re almost in the back of your head, thinking that if I am half a second late or my arm is a bit higher than what it’s supposed to be when I’m jumping [I’m in trouble].

“Again, it’s my own fault for getting four yellow cards, I guess, so it’s one of them situations where I have to deal with it.

“I’m probably gonna get a yellow card in the next 11 games or whatever it is that I have to wait before the slate gets cleaned (19th game of the season), so I just have to get on with it.”