After the strange incident with referee Paul Tierney during Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has confirmed that the Blues will move their pre-match huddle away from the centre circle. The ritual, in which Chelsea players form a circle around the ball before the game, became even more controversial when Tierney stood in the middle of the team’s huddle instead of moving away.
The centre-circle routine has been a mainstay since Rosenior took over in January. Player development officer Willie Isa is credited with helping convey the idea to the team. But the Newcastle incident has made the Blues change the way they do things.
At his press conference ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League second leg against Paris Saint-Germain, Rosenior discussed the ongoing saga and downplayed its importance.
“It is a small thing among many serious things we need to address. We always want to show unity and togetherness. We don’t want to antagonise anyone, so we’ll decide where we do that on the pitch tomorrow.”
Rosenior also told reporters that the talk in the huddle had been blown out of proportion and was just a media distraction. He also said that he has a meeting planned with the referees’ group PGMOL to talk about some of the calls made during the Newcastle loss. He stressed that his problems with the officials went beyond the huddle incident.
Notably, Rosenior thought Chelsea should have been awarded a clear penalty when Nick Woltemade appeared to bring down Cole Palmer in the box during the Newcastle loss. He also said that the referee’s focus on the huddle may have contributed to the missed call.
Chelsea Set to Take on PSG in Second Leg
Chelsea have to play perfectly on Tuesday night when they host Paris Saint-Germain, the current Champions League holders, at Stamford Bridge. The Blues are down 5-2 on aggregate after PSG scored three goals in the last 20 minutes of the first leg at the Parc des Princes.
Rosenior said at a press conference that captain Reece James will not be able to play because he hurt his hamstring near the end of the Newcastle game. The full extent of the injury is still unknown. The Opta supercomputer says that Chelsea only made it through 5.9% of the simulations, which shows how hard Rosenior’s team will have to work. The game will start at 8 p.m. UK time on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge.