![\"\"](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Paul-Tierney-1347.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646\")
\t<\/div>Liam Rosenior has hit out at referee Paul Tierney after he stood in the middle of Chelsea\u2019s pre-match huddle before their 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Chelsea have suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time under Liam Rosenior as Anthony Gordon\u2019s first-half goal sealed the win for Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n
Rosenior\u2019s side were also at the centre of a bizarre moment before kick-off as Tierney stood next to the match ball while Chelsea formed their pre-match huddle around the official.<\/p>\n
After Chelsea\u2019s defeat, Rosenior accused Tierney of giving too much focus on his players\u2019 pre-game ritual and criticised the referee for his failure to award a penalty when Nick Woltemade caught Cole Palmer inside Newcastle\u2019s box.<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m disappointed. There\u2019s more focus and emphasis on the things that don\u2019t matter,\u2019 Rosenior said when asked about the incident involving Tierney.<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m going to make it really clear. I want to protect my players. I\u2019m 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. There is nothing that they\u2019re doing with that huddle that is disrespectful to the opposition.<\/p>\n Metro<\/strong>‘s Head of Sport James Goldman delivers punchy analysis, transfer talk and his take on the week’s biggest stories direct to your inbox every week.<\/p>\n Sign up here, it’s an open goal.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018We had a meeting with the referee, my assistant goes in, the first thing he talks about is our huddle. He says about when I complained about Arsenal being in our half. It wasn\u2019t the goalkeeper coach that was in our half. People were at that game Arsenal, I said what I said. We\u2019re not being disrespectful to the opposition.<\/p>\n \u2018If Paul had focused more on his job, which was to make the right decision, we have a penalty today. I don\u2019t think anybody in this room can say that Woltemade doesn\u2019t kick Cole Palmer down in the box.<\/p>\n \u2018So, let\u2019s focus on the things that are important. My team showing unity is not as important as getting the decisions right on the pitch.\u2019<\/p>\n Asked if Chelsea will look to alter the huddle to avoid a repeat situation, Rosenior replied: \u2018Yes, I\u2019ll be honest, I didn\u2019t speak to Paul today or his officials. I thought it wasn\u2019t the right thing to do today.<\/p>\n \u2018But I\u2019ll be speaking to PGMOL. I\u2019ll be speaking to the refs and just trying to get an understanding of why that happened today.\u2019<\/p>\n For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on ![\"LONDON,](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SEI_289353540-4c61.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646\")
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