'Respect the ball': Liam Rosenior's bizarre comments on Chelsea's pre-game huddle that surrounded referee before Newcastle United game
Before a ball had even been kicked at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night as Chelsea took on Newcastle United, the referee found himself the literal centre of attention.
Chelsea have started a tradition of performing their pre-kick off huddle on the centre circle around the ball, which is fine, we suppose, albeit a bit strange.
However, last night, referee Paul Tierney decided to put himself in the middle of it all, creating a bizarre scene pre-kick off, and it was hardly a good look having the referee as part of your pre-game ritual.
We wonder if Tierney overheard the players saying that they were going to fall over at the slightest contact all game?
You show that inanimate object some respect!
Eddie Howe offered no comment when he was asked about the situation, but Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior may wish he'd done the same when he reads back these comments he made after the game (via GOAL).
"I'm disappointed. There's more focus and emphasis on the things that don't matter. I'm going to make it really clear. I want to protect my players. I'm respectful to the game. My players made the decision that they wanted to be around the ball, to respect the ball and show unity and leadership. That is not my decision. That was a decision between the leadership group and the team.
"My players made a decision that they wanted to huddle around the ball to show unity; it's not my decision. There's nothing disrespectful about it. If Paul had focused more on his job, which is to make the right difference, we would have had a penalty today. Let's focus on the things that are important.
"I'll be honest I didn't speak to Paul today or his officials but I'll be speaking to the PGMOL and the refs to try and get an understanding of why that happened today. We were told, in the rule book, it's about timing. I just want to find a solution to this. We're talking about something that's nowhere near as important as what happened."
Liam Rosenior was convinced Chelsea should have had a penalty
They wanted to respect the ball? You what, mate? That comment was strange enough, but the fact that he's irked enough to want to take it to the PGMOL suggests that his comment that it doesn't matter isn't exactly true.
Rosenior's emotions were clearly running high after the game as he was adamant that Chelsea should have had a penalty after Cole Palmer stood on Nick Woltemade's foot.
That's not how it works, Liam. Just take the defeat gracefully, man,
