Chelsea players enter a huddle surrounding Referee Paul Tierney on the halfway line prior to the Premier League match with Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge. Photo: Getty Images
Chelsea players enter a huddle surrounding Referee Paul Tierney on the halfway line prior to the Premier League match with Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge. Photo: Getty Images
Sam Wallace
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Chelsea players were warned not to form their infamous huddle around the ball just ahead of kick-off in the Premier League game against Newcastle United on Saturday − but did so anyway, encircling referee Paul Tierney.
The image of the referee surrounded by Chelsea players went around the world and prompted an angry response from the Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior.
Telegraph Sport can reveal that Chelsea staff were told at the pre-match meeting between officials, representatives from the two clubs and the Premier League not to form the huddle around the centre circle if Newcastle were about to kick-off. In that case, Chelsea representatives were told the players should form the huddle in their own half.
They were also told that Tierney would be in the vicinity of the centre spot in the moments before the game began to make sure that there was no confrontation over the huddle with Newcastle players. In the game against Aston Villa the previous week there had been anger among the Villa players when Chelsea did the same huddle around the centre circle at the start of the second half.
In that game, Villa players waiting to take the kick-off, including Ollie Watkins and Andre Onana, had become frustrated and complained to referee Jarrod Gillett.
It was noted by the referees’ body Professional Game Match Officials [PGMOL] and Tierney was told that he should stand his ground and make sure the same kind of confrontation did not happen.
But Chelsea’s players formed up around the centre circle regardless with Tierney at the centre. Rosenior said after the game that there was “more focus and emphasis on the things that do not matter” and that his players wanted “to respect the ball and show unity and leadership”. He did say that the issue of the huddle had been brought up in the pre-match briefing.
Since then, Rosenior has said that the centre-circle huddle in the moments before kick-off is off the agenda. The Chelsea players did not do it before the Champions League tie against Paris St-Germain on Tuesday.
Chelsea have been approached for comment.