You must have done something wrong as a referee if both managers are unhappy with you at the end of the match. So it was for Jon Moss, who has retirement on the horizon, but no sign of lap of honour.
Moss made a number of controversial decisions during Aston Villa’s 2-1 defeat to Liverpool on Tuesday evening, which irked the home crowd, leading him to be booed as he left the pitch at the final whistle.
? ?????? ?? ???? ????#AVFC fans make their opinion of the officials heard as referee John Moss and co leave the pitch pic.twitter.com/ZFV3MiB7rS
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 10, 2022
From a Liverpool point of view, it took him just 3 minutes to spark fury. As Douglas Luiz put Aston Villa ahead, it turned out that the Brazilian had not timed his run perfectly and was in fact offside. Klopp made his feelings clear to SkySports after the match.
Klopp ? "I don't know, I think it was offside?"
? "Yes it was."
Klopp ?
Jurgen Klopp is not happy with Aston Villa's goal against Liverpool pic.twitter.com/nw6MfPIHtU
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 10, 2022
Meanwhile Villa manager Steven Gerrard said a lot less when asked about Moss’ performance, but was equally clear on his sentiments. The Express and Star reported his comments.
No comment. I just hope it is looked at. That is all I will say.”
“I don’t want to be sour. We have lost the game and Liverpool have scored two goals against us, we need to look at that. I don’t want to try and cover over any cracks. But you asked me a question and I said I hope the referee’s performance is looked at.”
Steven Gerrard said he hoped Jon Moss' performance tonight is "looked at". Didn't want to say any more, for fear of getting into hot water. Broke into a broad smile when told the referee will be retiring at the end of the season. #avfc
— matt maher (@mjmarr_star) May 10, 2022
At the very least, for once it seems everyone is in agreement over the referee.