Paul Tierney may prove to be an unpopular man at Anfield this weekend when he takes charge of Liverpool vs Arsenal.
Tierney has been appointed by the Premier League to officiate the high-profile clash at 4.30pm on Sunday. He will be assisted by Constantine Hatzidakis and Scott Ledger, with Craig Pawson on the touchline as fourth official and Chris Kavanagh at Stockley Park as VAR.
Tierney is clearly highly thought of at the PGMOL – the refereeing body who oversee the officials and decide who to appoint to the big matches. But both sides he will be refereeing this weekend have previously been hugely critical of his work.
Back in September, Tierney took charge of Arsenal’s trip to Old Trafford to play Manchester United. The game ended up 3-1 to the home team as Mikel Arteta’s side suffered their first league defeat of the campaign.
Marcus Rashford stole the show with two second-half goals to win it for Erik ten Hag’s team, but his impact came after some controversy involving Tierney. Arsenal thought they had taken the lead in the 11th minute through Gabriel Martinelli, only to have the goal ruled out by Tierney for a foul on Christian Eriksen in the build-up by Martin Odegaard.
Odegaard was annoyed with the call, saying after the match: "In my opinion it is never a foul. I think the referee sees it and he says play on. It's a soft challenge and for VAR to come in it has to be clear and obvious.
"For me it is very, very soft. You can always make it look worse on camera. But it's never a foul and the referee said play on so it is frustrating."
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has a more specific gripe with Tierney which dates back to December 2021 and a 2-2 draw with Tottenham. Andy Robertson was sent off for a poor tackle on Emerson Royal, but Harry Kane escaped a red card for a similar challenge, while Liverpool also had a penalty appeal from Diogo Jota waved away.
Klopp was booked for his protestations and was caught on camera telling Tierney, "I have no problems with any referees. Only you.”
After the match he told Sky Sports: "Yes, definitely [Kane should have been shown a red card]. We can give Robbo a red card, it's not the smartest challenge of his life, that's how it is. But that's [Kane on Robertson] definitely a red card, no doubt about that.
"People will say his leg is in the air, but that's pure coincidence. Harry cannot judge that and if Robbo's leg is on the ground, then it's a broken leg, no doubt about that.”
On the Jota penalty claim, an irate Klopp added: “Mr Tierney told me he thinks Diogo stops on purpose because he wants the foul. First and foremost if you want to shoot you have to stop because he cannot run and shoot in the same moment.
"It will always be helpful if people have played football themselves in the past. It's fine, the draw is okay. We are not that crazy that we think we can't draw at Tottenham. But these situations are crucial, they are decisive."
