Despite refereeing making several mistakes, the Premier League Referees Committee rejected Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp's comments that referee Paul Tierney acted inappropriately during Liverpool's 4-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Tierney showed Klopp a yellow card for his raucous celebration in the face of fourth referee John Brooks after Diego Jota scored Liverpool's killer winner in stoppage time, 99 seconds after Richarlison scored Tottenham's equaliser.
Club celebration = injury
Will you miss him for the next match? 🧐✍️ #English_Premier_League | #LiverpoolTottenham#PremierLeague pic.twitter.com/Kh8zCqk7Ha
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During the post-match press conference, Klopp criticised referee Tierney, accusing the refereeing staff of speaking to him inappropriately.
But the Premier League Referees Committee said in a statement on Monday: "Premier League match officials are linked via a communications system during all matches and, having fully reviewed the audio recording of referee Paul Tierney, we can confirm that he acted in a professional manner throughout, including when issuing a warning to the Liverpool manager, so we strongly reject any suggestion that Tierney's actions were inappropriate."
🤯🤯The madness of the Premier League
⚽️ d. 90+3 Richarlison equalized for Spurs 3-3 d. 90+4 Jota gives Liverpool the lead after a fatal mistake from Lucas Moura 4-3
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— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) April 30, 2023
Abu Trika attacks the referee
Klopp was not the only one who criticized the referee, but was criticized by the analytical studios of the match as well, including the studio of the channel "beIN Sports" on the words of former Egyptian star Mohamed Aboutrika, who said that "the refereeing was not at the level of the match."
Aboutrika: Refereeing was not at the level of the match
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— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) April 30, 2023
In light of the refereeing cases that took place in the match, we find that the referee Paul Tierney has already misjudged many technical cases and administrative decisions that wronged both teams.
The most important of these cases was his disregard for a penalty for Tottenham in the 85th minute when Ibrahima Konaté grabbed Liverpool defender Richarlison Tottenham striker inside the Reds penalty area clearly to stop his progress towards the high foreground.
Curiously, despite the clear grip of Konaté's left arm, the VAR did not intervene strictly to correct the error that affected the outcome of the match, which was indicating the Reds lead 3-2.
The referee also overlooked a clear foul and a warning to Tottenham's Oliver Scape in the 34th minute when he recklessly tackled Liverpool's Luis Diaz feet, knowing that Article 12 of the Football (Fouls and Misconduct) Act stipulates that recklessness must be punished with a warning.
Although Skip did succeed in playing the ball – one of the considerations for not awarding a fine – he deliberately and unjustifiably directed the soles of his shoes in the direction of Diaz's leg in a way that puts it at risk of breaking in a case that meets all considerations of recklessness, knowing that it does not amount to violent play that requires expulsion for two important considerations: Skipp's lack of rushing from a distance and non-excessive or violent force in hitting the opponent.
- Former international referee