Focus on decisions, not huddle: Chelsea’s Rosenior tells referee after Premier League defeat against Newcastle United

Chelsea coach Liam Rosenior accused the referee in charge of its 1-0 ​home Premier League 2025-26 defeat against Newcastle United on ‌Saturday of focusing too much on his ​players’ pre-match huddle when he should ⁠have instead made sure he got a penalty decision right.

Chelsea players have gathered in a circle around ‌the centre spot of the pitch before kick-off in recent games, to the ‌annoyance of opposition players who feel they ‌are ⁠encroaching on their space.

Before the Newcastle ⁠game, the huddle was formed around referee Paul Tierney who stood his ground.

Asked about the incident by reporters, Rosenior ​said he was ‌disappointed by the focus on “things that don’t matter”, but the players’ decision to huddle in the centre of the pitch was not disrespectful ‌to their opponent. He also said ​Tierney had raised the issue of the centre-spot huddles with one of his ⁠staff members before the game.

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“If Paul had focused more on his job, which is to make ‌the right decision, we had a penalty today,” the coach said, referring to Cole Palmer going down in the Newcastle penalty area as he jostled with Nick Woltemade in the second half.

“Let’s focus on the things that ‌are important. My team showing unity is not as ​important as getting the decisions right on the pitch,” Rosenior said, adding he ⁠would ask for clarification from the body responsible for ⁠refereeing.

Rosenior conceded Saturday’s defeat represented a blow to Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for ‌next season’s Champions League, but there would be “plenty of twists and turns” in the ​remaining eight Premier League games.

Published on Mar 15, 2026