FORMER England international goalkeeper Phil Parkes has been blasted after appearing to urge Burnley fans to throw bricks through a referee's windows.

Parkes made his on-air gaffe while commentating on Burnley's 2-1 away defeat at Bournemouth.

Surrey referee David Crick turned down a first half penalty appeal to the fury of the travelling Burnley supporters.

Speaking on Radio Lancashire, Parkes then said if Burnley are relegated, fans should find the ref's address and smash his windows.

An angry Clarets fan later contacted Radio 5's "Six-O-Six" phone-in programme, hosted by David Mellor, to blast the ex-England, West Ham and QPR keeper.

And that prompted Parkes in turn to phone the programme to apologise. "I was in a rage and shouldn't have said it," he said. "There's no way I'd advocate violence against a referee's property.

"I'm afraid I got so involved in the fortunes of Burnley. It was one of the most blatant penalties I've ever seen and I just came out and said it. It was a decision which probably cost Burnley their place in the division."

Radio Lancashire station manager Steve Taylor today dismissed the incident as "a storm in a tea cup".

"He did not mean it and he is sorry if anybody took him seriously," said Mr Taylor.

"He is now a glazier and he said he would put the windows back in!"

Parkes, a regular match summariser for Radio Lancashire, is unlikely to face any disciplinary action following the outburst.

"He is a very good summariser because he knows the game inside out," Mr Taylor added.

Burnley MP Peter Pike said: "I did not hear him say it but if he did it was a very stupid and ill-advised thing to say.

"It was the general view that Burnley should have had a penalty but people in responsible positions cannot get carried away with the situation, there's no excuse."

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