Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior is planning to speak to referees’ body Professional Game Match Official Limited (PGMOL) about Paul Tierney. This follows an incident before Saturday’s game against Newcastle where the referee stood in the middle of Chelsea’s pre-match huddle.
Rosenior’s Concerns Over Penalty Decision
Rosenior also raised concerns over Tierney’s performance during the match, specifically the decision not to award Chelsea a second-half penalty. He believed Nick Woltemade fouled Cole Palmer in the box. Rosenior said: “If Paul had focused more on his job, which was to make the right decision, we’d have a penalty today. I don’t think anyone can say that Woltemade doesn’t kick Palmer down in the box.”
The Chelsea head coach added, “I’ll be speaking to PGMOL and the refs to get an understanding of why that happened today. We were told that in the rulebook you can be where you want and it’s about timing.” He stated, “I’m disappointed. I’m going to make it clear. I want to protect my players and I’m respectful to the game.”
Referee’s Position Before Kick-Off
Tierney was standing over the ball prior to kick-off. He did not move away as Chelsea players gathered for their pre-match huddle. This bemused some of the Blues’ starting XI.
Cole Palmer jokingly wrapped his arms around Tierney before staring quizzically at the official. Trevoh Chalobah and Enzo Fernandez watched on in amusement as this happened.
Explanation and Reaction to the Huddle Incident
Former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann said he had never seen anything as strange “in 50 years of watching football”. Cann explained that, because it was Newcastle’s kick-off, the referee was controlling the ball on the halfway line to prevent potential issues. Cann said: “As it was Newcastle’s kick-off, the referee [took] control of the ball on the halfway line and was there to prevent any potential issues.”
According to Cann, there isn’t usually an issue when it’s Newcastle’s kick-off. However, he added that “when their opponents have to kick off, there is potential for confrontation.”
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said the incident had “absolutely zero relevance to me”. He added: “I was totally non-fussed by it. I don’t pay any attention to things like that. It’s not going to help us win or lose the game.”
Chelsea’s Huddle and Previous Reactions
Rosenior said on Friday: “There is nothing about the huddle that is intentionally to affect anything to do with the opposition, the fans, or anything at all. It was a decision that was made between the group and the leadership team about the way they wanted to show unity.”
Chelsea captain Reece James reportedly came up with the idea. Before the game Rosenior said, “Before the game we had a meeting with the referee. My assistant goes in and the first thing [Tierney] talks about is our huddle. We’re not being disrespectful to the opposition.”
Chelsea’s huddles appeared to frustrate Aston Villa players and fans during the Blues’ recent 4-1 win at Villa Park. The home fans booed the visitors during the half-time interval.
Rosenior stated that before the game, Tierney spoke about Chelsea’s huddle during a meeting with Rosenior’s assistant. Rosenior said, “It just makes a farce of the whole thing”.