Paul Tierney was caught in an odd position ahead of Chelsea's Premier League outing with Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, when he was surrounded by Blues players for their pre-match huddle
17:41, 14 Mar 2026Updated 17:56, 14 Mar 2026
Chelsea players huddle around referee Paul Tierney before the game against Newcastle
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Chelsea players huddled around referee Paul Tierney before the game against Newcastle
Paul Tierney played an impartial part of Chelsea's pre-match huddle ahead of their Premier League clash with Newcastle United on Saturday, as he was surrounded by Blues stars.
Ahead of the 5.30pm kick-off at Stamford Bridge, Liam Rosenior's starting XI decided to have their huddle at the centre spot where the referee was stood, as Tierney looked away from the inter-team discussion with a puzzled look on his face.
Cole Palmer also gave the referee an embrace from behind before the Chelsea players locked arms in a showing of comedy. From there, Tierney remained with the ball at his feet until Rosenior's first team took their places in their own half.
Bill Leslie, who was on Sky Sports commentary for the match couldn't help but shed light on the bizarre incident, as he said: "Paul Tierney has been caught up in this new pre-match ritual that Chelsea have of going around and huddling around the ball on the centre spot.
"They have been doing that for a few weeks now, people have noticed recently. Paul Tierney is caught in the middle there. Sorry to interrupt Chris (Sutton), that is quite unusual!"
It's not the first time that Chelsea have taken to the centre-circle for their pre-match huddle in recent weeks.
During last week's 2-1 win over Aston Villa, the Blues took to the middle of the pitch to regroup ahead of the second-half.
The move prevented the Villans from resuming play as Ollie Watkins and Amadou Onana were left with a bamboozled look on their faces, confused as to what was happening while they waited to kick-off.
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Speaking about the move at full time against, Rosenior distanced himself from the showing.
He said: "It wasn't my idea, it's come from the players and I really like it because they're showing unity, togetherness and spirit.
"You need that before anything, before you start talking about tactics or systems - you need a group of players to run and fight for each other.
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"And in my time there's not been one game where I can say they've not given everything or I've been disappointed with their application.
"That bodes well because they're a good group, a tight group and they enjoy each other's company and that's half the battle."
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