Paul Tierney will not take charge of a Premier League match this weekend having come under fire for his controversial decision in Liverpool’s clash with Nottingham Forest over the weekend. Instead, the official will be based at Stockley Park as the VAR for the match between Arsenal and Brentford.
The Reds managed to retain their lead at the top of the table on Saturday thanks to a late winner from Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan international managed to steer his header past Matz Sels in the 99th minute at the City Ground to send the travelling Liverpool supporters into a frenzy.
However, the nature of the last-gasp winner has been somewhat overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the goal. The Reds received possession prior to their goal after Tierney restarted the match with a drop ball at the feet of Caiomhin Kelleher.
But Forest were left infuriated by that decision as they were in possession of the ball when play was halted due to a head injury sustained by Ibrahima Konate. Both players and supporters felt that Tierney should have restarted play with the ball at the feet of one of their players instead of the Liverpool goalkeeper.
The referee has come under immense criticism from ex-referees and pundits following the match, with many unhappy with how the decision could ultimately prove decisive in the title race.
PGMOL appear to be aware of the pressure mounting on the shoulders of Tierney and have taken him out of the limelight ahead of this weekend’s matches, with the 43-year-old not set to take charge of any Premier League games. He will instead be on VAR duty for when Arsenal host Brentford at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
And the decision for Tierney not to referee a match suggests the PGMOL are well aware of the gravity of Tierney’s error. Former ref Mike Dean said: “Unfortunately for the referee he’s made a monumental error. It’s a mistake. We all know it’s a mistake.
“The law states that whoever has the ball when the play does stop, the ball goes back to them. Hudson-Odoi clearly had the ball and the ball and the ball should have been dropped to Nottingham Forest on the wing.
“I know they went and scored Liverpool, it wasn’t directly from the drop ball, it’s close enough two minutes afterwards so it’s a big timescale in between.”
Forest recently employed Mark Clattenburg as a refereeing analyst to review their games, and the former official spoke on the latest controversy involving Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, saying: “As a club, Forest feel there have been one or two decisions that have gone against them – Newcastle United, West Ham – decisions that the PGMOL have accepted that there has been a mistake.
“If the referee is to stop the game for a head injury if he feels there is one. He’s rightly allowed to stop it. However, the ball has to go back to the team that has possession. And Nottingham Forest clearly had that possession.
“He did exactly the same in the first half however it was a different situation. The ball was closer to the penalty area and the Nottingham Forest was towards the corner flag. Nottingham Forest should have had the ball back. Instead, Liverpool have gone upfield and scored from it.”