Referee involving himself in Chelsea team huddle was ridiculous

"The more I watch Tierney in the middle of the Chelsea team huddle, the less I am convinced by his decision to stand and hold his ground over the match ball. Referees do their homework, Tierney would have known that the Chelsea huddle was going to happen and with Newcastle due to kick off, his mindset was to be proactive and defuse any possible issues with the opposition."

"However, his decision to stand over the ball as the Chelsea players locked arms around him and not move to a more neutral position is difficult to understand and increased the profile of the situation unnecessarily. The Chelsea players didn't seem worried by Tierney's presence as they continued with their pre-match ritual."

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior has established a pre-match ritual where players gather in the center circle before kick-off. During the Newcastle match, referee Paul Tierney stood in the middle of this huddle while holding the match ball as captain Reece James addressed the team. Newcastle won 1-0, and Rosenior criticized Tierney's decision, stating he will contact PGMOL for clarification. Former Select Group referee Andy Davies analyzes the incident, noting that while Tierney likely knew about Chelsea's huddle ritual and intended to be proactive, his choice to stand over the ball rather than move to a neutral position was difficult to justify and unnecessarily heightened the situation's prominence.

Read at ESPN.com