Gary Neville has opined on Chelsea
Gary Neville has opined on Chelsea's pre-match ritual. (Source: Getty, Getty)
Manchester United legend Gary Neville has hit out at Chelsea for organising a pre-match hurdle in their recent matches, claiming the Blues are trying to swindle their fans.
Earlier on Saturday (March 14), Chelsea slumped to a 1-0 home loss to Newcastle United following Anthony Gordon's 18th-minute opener. But, referee Paul Tierney's decision to impede the Blues' pre-match huddle near the centre-circle diverted the attention away from the result.
While Blues fans were irked by Tierney's action before the kick-off, Neville is of the opinion that the Stamford Bridge club's pre-match ritual is performative. He said on Sky Sports (h/t The Chelsea Chronicle):
"It's just for show. Absolutely, it's just for show. It's almost cultish. It's just for show, you know, for fans to be able to... 'Look at us, we're together'. And the fans won't be conned by that, by the way, they'll just judge you on your performance."
Liam Rosenior's outfit produced a wasteful performance against Newcastle, failing to score from 22 attempts at Stamford Bridge. They relished 67% possession and completed 620 passes with 92% accuracy, but missed both of their big chances.
The Blues dropped to sixth place in the 2025-26 Premier League table after the 1-0 defeat. They are currently on 48 points from 30 outings, trailing Liverpool by just a point and fourth-placed Aston Villa by three points.
Paul Tierney slammed after Chelsea's 1-0 loss
In his column for ESPN, ex-Premier League referee Andy Davies claimed that Paul Tierney should not have interrupted the Blues' hurdle. He wrote:
"The more I watch Tierney in the middle of the team huddle, the less I am convinced by his decision to stand and hold his ground over the match ball. His decision to stand over the ball as the players locked arms around him and not move to a more neutral position is difficult to understand and increased the profile of the situation unnecessarily."
Further criticizing Tierney, Davies concluded:
"The Chelsea players didn't seem worried by Tierney's presence as they continued with their pre-match ritual. Regardless, the optics didn't look great for the PGMOL, Premier League or Tierney. It was a ridiculous situation that could and should have been managed differently."
Chelsea are likely to continue their hurdle as head coach Liam Rosenior has lately defended his side's decision to surround the ball before kick-off. They will next face Paris Saint-Germain in their UEFA Champions League last-16 second leg clash on Tuesday (March 17).