· 26 August 2025, 21:30
**Last night's clash between Newcastle United and Liverpool was one for the ages as off-field tensions fueled a full-blooded game of football.**
There was no getting away from the fact that it was a stop-start game with 32 fouls being registered. Newcastle also lost three players to injury, two of whom required lengthy treatment on the pitch, leading to 11 minutes of stoppage time being awarded at the end of the game, which allowed Liverpool to grab a late, late winner.
As a result of all the stoppages, the ball was only actually in play for 40.8% of the game, the lowest in 15 years.
After the game, Liverpool boss Arne Slot questioned whether it could have been called a football match, while one Liverpool fan in our comments likened our tactics to those of Stoke City circa 2007 - which isn't a bad shout considering the last time the ball was in play for less time was in fact a Stoke City game 15 years ago.
Keith Hackett believes the Premier League should investigate the time the ball was out of play
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
However, as the players on both sides resorted to just kicking seven bells out of each other, and Newcastle only had 10 men for half of the game, it's hardly a surprise that we had to rely on set pieces and speculative balls into the area.
That's not how former head of the PGMOL Keith Hackett saw it, though, as the former Premier League referee has called for the Premier League to launch an investigation into the game, telling [Football Insider](https://www.footballinsider247.com/premier-league-told-to-immediately-investigate-newcastle-vs-liverpool-this-cannot-be-overlooked/) that the game was ruined.
> "This is frankly an unacceptable stat – it fails to deliver value for money to the paying fans."I would recommend that the Premier League launch an investigation to determine where time was lost."Hooper is an official who likes to keep his interventions to a minimum and create a good game flow."I would suggest that he is not to blame, but clearly can greatly influence the amount of game-time by ensuring the appropriate amount of added time is applied.
>
> "The game has a problem that cannot be overlooked – the Premier League must investigate."
Simon Hooper didn't get much wrong last night, but he still didn't have a good game
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Simon Hooper made a rod for his own back early on last night by penalising every little thing, and while that mostly benefitted Newcastle to begin with, there's no denying it disrupted the flow of the game, and as the match became increasingly intense, we feel that Hooper lost control of the match.
The referee allowed the game to continue for far too long after Fabian Schar went down with a head injury, which was a huge marker for us that he'd lost focus.
We don't believe Hooper necessarily got any decision wrong, but he never seemed to have a real handle on the game.