The bizarre sight of Chelsea’s players forming a pre-match huddle around referee Paul Tierney ahead of their game with Newcastle has come in for criticism, with Match of the Day pundit Ashley Williams calling it a “farce”.

The Blues have made a habit in recent weeks of forming a huddle before kick-off around the ball on the centre spot, with captain Reece James reportedly coming up with the idea.

But against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge on Saturday the players had an unexpected guest in their huddle, with Tierney opting to stand over the ball to prevent potential disputes as the visitors had the kick-off.

Tierney did not move away despite being encircled, while Chelsea opted to continue their team talk there despite the referee standing in the centre. Several Chelsea players were visibly bemused by his presence and Cole Palmer jokingly hugged him from behind before giving him a quizzical look, with Tierney remaining serene.

Match of the Day pundit and former England goalkeeper Joe Hart weighed in, saying: “The huddle is key and Liam Rosenior has talked about it, this just didn’t feel like it should be going on in the Premier League. It felt like some of it could have been addressed before the game, they’ve done it in previous games.

“Paul Tierney’s got a point he wants to make about the opposition having the kick-off and he feels he should be there to protect the ball in case Chelsea do something about it. Sort it out before the game, we don’t need to be seeing this.”

Williams added: “I’m as confused as Cole Palmer is as to why Paul Tierney’s standing over the ball and protecting the ball. We know Chelsea’s doing it, I don’t have a problem with it, do it wherever, but for the ref to stand there just makes a farce of the whole thing.”

Even more bizarrely, Blues boss Liam Rosenior slammed Tierney after the 1-0 loss, accusing him of being more fixated on the huddle than correctly refereeing the game.

“If Paul had focused more on his job, which was to make the right decision, we’d have a penalty today,” the former Strasbourg manager said, arguing Chelsea should have had a spot-kick for a Nick Woltemade challenge on Palmer in the box.

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“I’ll be speaking to [referees’ body] PGMOL and the refs to get an understanding of why that happened today. We were told that in the rulebook you can be where you want and it’s about timing.

“I’m disappointed. I’m going to make it clear. I want to protect my players and I’m respectful to the game.

“Before the game we had a meeting with the referee. My assistant goes in and the first thing [Tierney] talks about is our huddle. We’re not being disrespectful to the opposition.

“I just want to find a solution to this because we’re actually talking about something that’s nowhere near as important as what’s happening on the pitch.”

Chelsea’s habit has come in for criticism from other quarters. The players were booed off the pitch at half-time in their 4-1 win over Aston Villa and several Villa players remonstrated with referee Jarred Gillett for allowing them to delay the restart with another huddle.

TNT Sports commentator Steve McManaman said then: “I think it’s ridiculous to be very honest. Nowadays with the psychological gains to be made, everyone’s coming up with a new silly idea and this is one of them.”

Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett strongly disapproved of the team’s behaviour, writing on X: “This incident is not funny. It undermines the authority and integrity of the match official. In his pocket is a yellow card and it should have been out and shown to the captain. Tierney made to look a fool.”