Liam Rosenier was furious after the Blues’ hopes of qualifying for the Champions League were once again doomed after Chelsea lost 1-0 to Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.
Liam Rosenior was unimpressed with referee Paul Tierney (Image: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Liam Rosenior wants urgent talks with PGMOL following a number of incidents during Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle. Rosenior’s side were trailing in the first half thanks to Anthony Gordon’s goal, but the drama began before kick-off.
Referee Paul Tierney was caught up in a Chelsea crowd near the center circle before the match. The Blues were denied a penalty in the second half as Cole Palmer believed he had been fouled by Nick Woltemade.
Newcastle also had a controversial penalty denied in the first half. “I’m disappointed,” Rosenior said in the post-match press conference.
“There’s more focus and emphasis on things that don’t matter. I’m going to say it clearly. I want to protect the players. I have respect for the game.”
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“My players made a decision that they wanted to be around the ball, respect the ball and show unity and leadership. It wasn’t my decision. It was a decision between the leadership and the team.”
“I didn’t do anything disrespectful to the other team in that huddle. I met with the referee and my assistant came into the room and the first thing he talked about was our huddle.
“He said what I said when I complained about Arsenal being in our own half. It wasn’t the goalkeeper coach who was in our half. Arsenal had people in that game and I said what I said.”
“We’re not being disrespectful to our opponents. If Paul had been more focused on his job of making the right decisions, we would have been awarded a penalty today. I don’t think anyone in this room can say that Woltemade wouldn’t have kicked Cole Palmer down in the box.”
“So let’s focus on what’s important. Showing team unity is not as important as making the right decisions on the pitch.”
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Paul Tierney will take part in Chelsea’s pre-match huddle (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Asked after the match if he had spoken to Tierney, Rosenior said: “I didn’t speak to Paul today or 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.”
Chelsea’s manager lamented his team’s third defeat in five games, leaving them at risk of slipping to sixth place against Liverpool on Sunday. “Mistakes happen,” Rosenior acknowledged. “They couldn’t do anything and we gave them a goal. I feel like every mistake we’re making goes into the back of the goal.
Cole Palmer wanted a penalty in the second half (Image: Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
“I’m not saying everything went wrong. We had chances in the first 15 to 20 minutes. The goal gave Newcastle energy. In the last third we lacked a bit of mental freshness.”
“Secondly, if we don’t score, we need to make sure the other team doesn’t score either. It’s disappointing that we couldn’t achieve a clean sheet when the other team didn’t score that much.”
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