Steven Gerrard did not mince his words in wishing referee Jon Moss a speedy retirement after calling out his performance in Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat to Liverpool.
A clearly irked Gerrard refused to be drawn into a direct criticism of Moss, instead repeating that he hoped the referee’s performance ‘is looked at’ by the Premier League.
However the Villa boss’ resolve broke at the very end of questioning, when a reporter at the press conference revealed to Gerrard that Moss was retiring at the end of the season.
Steven Gerrard (left) said Jon Moss (right) retiring at the end of the season was a ‘good’ thing
‘Is he?’ Gerrard replied, before offering a smirk and saying simply: ‘Good.’
Villa put in an impressive performance against Jurgen Klopp’s side, taking the lead after just three minutes through Douglas Luiz. Joel Matip equalised for the visitors moments later, before Sadio Mane scored the winner in the second half.
Villa fans made their displeasure at Moss’ performance known throughout the game, with the referee in their eyes favouring Liverpool.
There was a suggestion that Diogo Jota committed a foul in the build-up to the Reds’ equaliser, but Moss was not interested.
Gerrard was not at all happy with Moss’ performance and said he hopes it will be ‘looked at’
Gerrard confirmed that he did not go to see Moss after the match to make his displeasure known, but was more than happy to speak publicly about the referee.
‘Listen, I don’t want to get into trouble. I don’t want to be sour. We’ve lost the game. Liverpool have scored two goals against us and we need to look at that,’ he said.
‘I don’t want to cover over any cracks but, you asked me a question, and I said I hope the referee’s performance is looked at.’
Moss, 51, made his Premier League referee debut in 2011.
Fellow veteran official Martin Atkinson has also announced that he will retire at the end of the season. Both follow Mike Dean, who announced his retirement in March.
