Burnley Denied 'Blatant Penalty' in Bizarre Moment vs Chelsea as Players Furious

Burnley players were left furious after they were denied what appeared to be a clear penalty in their Premier League clash with Chelsea/

After the third international break of the season so far, the Premier League returned on Saturday morning for the 12th matchday.

In the opening game of the weekend, Chelsea travelled to Turf Moor to face the newly-promoted Burnley, ahead of Liverpool and Manchester City getting underway later in the day.

After a cagey 90 minutes, it was Enzo Maresca's side that picked up the win thanks to a goal from Pedro Neto, set up summer signing Jamie Gittens in the 37th minute, before Enzo Fernandez sealed the win in the closing moments.

However, the win didn't come without controversy as one moment early in the match left the home players absolutely furious as they demanded a penalty that could have changed everything.

With Burnley currently sat 17th in the Premier League table, it's clear that The Clarets are in a battle for survival in the top division this season, with just one point separating them and Nottingham Forest in 19th.

Therefore, picking up points in their home matches this season are vital, and Burnley players and fans clearly feel that they should have had a chance to take the lead in the match after Trevoh Chalobah appeared to handle the ball inside his own box.

In the 29th minute of the match, Chelsea were awarded a free kick that it appeared goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was about to take.

However, Sanchez instead calmly passed the ball to Chalobah, who leaned over to stop the ball with his hand before standing up to take the kick.

But, given the fact that Sanchez had already kicked the ball, the Burnley players clearly felt that they should have been awarded a penalty as soon as Chalobah handled the ball as they began protesting towards referee Peter Bankes.

Reacting to the moment, one fan wrote on X: "Absolutely a penalty. A ref, 2 assistants, a 4th official and 3 in the VAR room can't see it?"

While another added: "Am I going made who is that a blatant handball and penalty for Burnley?"

With one referencing a similar incident involving Aston Villa last season, writing: "Absolutely, Tyrone Mings can testify to that."

The incident in question happened during Villa's Champions League clash with Belgian club Club Brugge in November last year.

Minutes into the second half, goalkeeper Emi Martinez passed the ball out to Mings, who picked up the ball and placed it on the six-yard line to take a goal-kick.

But because the Englishman had used his hands and picked up the ball, referee Tobias Stieler decided the goal-kick had already been taken and instantly pointed to the spot and awarded a controversial penalty which was converted by Brugge captain Hans Vanaken.