Marc Cucurella has given his thoughts on Chelsea’s pre-match huddle ahead of their Premier League match against Newcastle.
Paul Tierney was in charge of Chelsea’s Premier League match against Newcastle United. (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC, Getty Images)
Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella has accused referee Paul Tierney of a “lack of respect” for his role in the headline-grabbing pre-match huddle incident. Ahead of the game against Newcastle United, Tierney found himself in the middle of a gathering of Chelsea’s squad.
Blues players crowded around the center spot, but found Tierney standing in the middle. They seemed to carry on regardless, and he was only released when the crowd dispersed.
The incident resulted in Chelsea’s Huddle being booed by Everton fans in the next Premier League match. The pre-match huddle was heavily criticized by pundit Gary Neville.
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Cucurella broke his silence on the situation and criticized referee Tierney. In an interview with The Athletic, he said, “I don’t want to talk about it. To me, it was a lack of respect.”
“He could have come to us and said, ‘Look, we can’t do that for this reason.’ But instead he came and stayed in the middle.
“Honestly, I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. I didn’t understand. I believed he wanted to spend his time.”
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Cucurella’s comments appear to echo those of manager Liam Rosenior, who revealed that he plans to discuss the incident with PGMOL.
“My players decided they wanted to be around the ball, respect the ball and show unity and leadership,” he said. “It was not my decision. It was a decision between the leadership and the team.
“They’re not being disrespectful to the opposition in that huddle. We had a meeting with the referee and my assistant went in and the first thing he talked about was our huddle.”
Manager Marc Cucurella criticized referee Paul Tierney after Chelsea’s huddle. (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC, Getty Images)
Asked after the game if he had spoken to Tierney, he said: “I didn’t speak to Paul today, I didn’t speak to his officials. I didn’t think it was the right thing to do today. But I will speak to PGMOL.”
“I’m just trying to talk to the refs and try to understand why it happened today. The rulebook says timing is key. Timing can get you where you want.”
“I just want to find a solution to this problem, because in reality we are talking about things that are not as important as what is happening on the pitch.”
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