Liam Rosenior to meet PGMOL after controversial pre-match huddle

Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior will hold face-to-face talks with the PGMOL this week after a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United that followed a pre-match huddle involving the match official Paul Tierney at St James' Park. The unusual scenes, which showed Blues players gathering around the referee before kick-off, quickly went viral and drew intense scrutiny.

Rosenior confirmed he had not yet spoken to the refereeing body. "No, I didn't. I have a meeting scheduled this week with them in person which I think would be better. The point of what I was saying after the game, it wasn't about the huddle. It was about my perspective on certain decisions made in the game.

It would be great to meet them and have an in-depth conversation with them." He sought to downplay the pre-match gathering as a show of unity. "I think in terms of the huddle, I think it's been blown out of proportion to be honest," he said. "It's a small, small thing amongst many, many serious things that we need to address, such as a massive game against PSG tomorrow.

England, Newcastle

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