Steven Gerrard did not deny his words, wishing referee John Moss a quick retirement after he pleaded with his performance in Tuesday night’s 2-1 loss to Liverpool.
An apparently angry Gerrard refused to be drawn into direct criticism of Moss, instead repeating that he hoped the Premier League would “look” at the referee’s performance.
But the Villa coach’s resolve was hampered at the end of the questioning, when a reporter at Gerrard’s press conference revealed that Moss would retire at the end of the season.
Steven Gerrard (left) said it was ‘good’ for John Moss (right) to retire at the end of the season.
‘Is it?’ Gerrard replied, before smiling and simply saying: “Good.”
Villa put in a superb performance against Jurgen Klopp’s side, taking a lead after just three minutes through Douglas Luiz. Joel Matip equalized for the visitors moments later, before Sadio Mane scored the winning goal in the second half.
Villa fans were displeased with Moss’ well-known performance throughout the match, with the referee in their eyes favoring Liverpool.
There was a suggestion that Diogo Jota made a mistake while preparing for the Reds’ draw, but Moss wasn’t interested.
Gerrard was not at all happy with Moss’ performance and said he hoped he would be “looked at”
Gerrard confirmed that he did not go to see Moss after the match to express his displeasure, but was more than happy to speak publicly about the referee.
‘Listen, I don’t want to get in trouble. I don’t want to be sour. We lost the game. Liverpool scored two goals against us and we need to look at that.
“I don’t want to cover any loopholes but, she asked me a question, and I said I hope the referee’s performance will be considered.”
Moss, 51, made his Premier League refereeing debut in 2011.
Fellow veteran official Martin Atkinson also announced that he will retire at the end of the season. Both follow Mike Dean, who announced his retirement in March.
