Patrick Rees
A Liverpool-Manchester United game always has a lot of going on even behind the scenes. While all eyes were on the 22 men taking to the pitch on Monday, there is a lot to talk about the two managers of the clubs.
While Jurgen Klopp has already spoken out about which Manchester United players he admires, Jose Mourinho could be in line for a fine from the FA. The Manchester United manager was speaking before the game and provided his comments on the referee storm that is brewing.
Anthony Taylor was selected as the referee for the game and for those not in the know, the Englishman is from Wythenshawe, Manchester. The FA rules clearly state that a referee cannot be in charge of a game that is played by the club he supports.
Taylor supports non-league Altrincham but referees are allowed to be in charge of games that features clubs from their hometown.
Referee could be under a lot of pressure
Manchester United’s Mourinho – talking to Sky Sports – stated that Taylor could be under pressure and it could be tricky for him to put in a good performance.
“I think somebody with intention is putting such pressure on him that I feel it will be difficult for him to have a very good performance.”
Mourinho did state that he was aware that he has fallen into trouble regarding his words on referees. But the Portuguese also stated that Taylor is a good referee. That might not be enough to keep the former Chelsea manager out of trouble.
FA rules have stated that officials from clubs cannot make comments on referees before a game. It will be interesting to see if Mourinho is charged by the FA, as he does have a history of falling into trouble.
Many have questioned the decision to appoint Taylor
While many criticized the appointment of Taylor, even former head of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) Keith Hackett also had his say about the scrutiny that Taylor would be under.
“Taylor is also in form and establishing himself firmly as one of the select group’s best operators,” Hackett said. “But what if something goes wrong for him on the day – as it can for even the finest referees? That’s when the focus on him would be intolerable, especially if a controversial incident has gone in favour of Liverpool and it influences the result.”
This does seem to be a little harsh, Taylor might not have wanted to fall under the scanner but he is being singled out a lot. The comments from Mourinho could be another ploy by the Special One.
