🤔 Ref in players’ huddle, bizarre moment before Premier League clash | OneFootball

The classic circles where players huddle together, embrace, and psych themselves up for the upcoming 90 minutes before kickoff are something we know primarily from amateur leagues. 

A professional club that adopted this ritual in recent weeks is FC Chelsea. 

However, during the match at Stamford Bridge against Newcastle, someone who didn't really belong there joined this circle: referee Paul Tierney. 

While the Chelsea players formed a circle around the match ball and the kickoff point to discuss their tactical instructions, the referee simply stood stoically within the circle. 

https://twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/2032874322813919423

The moment created a bizarre scene, and the images went viral immediately. 

The referee, who suddenly and unintentionally became the focal point of Chelsea's ritual, seemed a bit surprised but remained professional, simply waiting until the blue jerseys around him dispersed and took their positions on the field. 

Well, to be honest, referees can't really do much with the tactical instructions or last motivational speeches within the teams anyway. 

By the way, the match ended 0:1 from Chelsea's perspective. 

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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