The PGMOL has absolved Paul Tierney of any wrongdoing during Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Tottenham on Sunday.
The 42-year-old came in for criticism for Jurgen Klopp after the game, with the Reds manager claiming that the official said something ‘not okay’ to him when showing the German a yellow card for the manner in which he celebrated Diogo Jota’s stoppage time winner.
As per Sky Sports, the 55-year-old said afterwards that his side have ‘history’ with the whistler, who was embroiled in controversy for failing to send off Harry Kane for an awful challenge on Andy Robertson in a match between the two teams last season.
The referees’ body has since issued a strong defence of Tierney, saying in a statement (via The Mirror): “PGMOL is aware of the comments made by Jürgen Klopp after his side’s fixture with Tottenham Hotspur.
“Match officials in the Premier League are recorded in all games via a communications system and having fully reviewed the audio of referee Paul Tierney from today’s fixture, we can confirm he acted in a professional manner throughout including when issuing the caution to the Liverpool manager so, therefore, we strongly refute any suggestion that Tierney’s actions were improper.”
The Mirror‘s report mentioned that the Reds boss ‘could find himself in hot water with the authorities’ following his post-match remarks.
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Firstly, referees and their assistants have a thankless job that most people wouldn’t even entertaining doing on a recreational basis, and their role in football should be respected. No official goes out to deliberately railroad a team before taking charge of a game.
However, respect is a two-way street, and officials at Premier League level often don’t help themselves with some of the simply inexplicable decisions they take during matches.
Klopp is justified in pointing out that Tierney has history with Liverpool, with the aforementioned Kane challenge coming in the same match that saw Emerson Royal somehow escape a penalty for a clear foul on Jota inside the box (BBC Sport).
Yesterday, the referee failed to take any sanction against Oliver Skipp for a brutal, over-the-top lunge on Luis Diaz, so it’s little wonder the Reds boss was so enraged.
Players and managers have a responsibility to treat officials with respect, but in turn those tasked with refereeing Premier League matches also need to meet the standards expected of them at such an elite level of football.