Liverpool fans have reacted with fury to the news that Anthony Taylor and Paul Tierney will be part of the officiating team for this Sunday's title showdown with Manchester City.
With the two teams neck and neck at the top of the Premier League table, the Liverpool fanbase aren't best pleased that two men with Manchester connections will be in charge.
Referee Taylor is from Wythenshawe in Manchester while VAR official Tierney hails from Wigan, which falls within the Greater Manchester area.
And plenty of Liverpool fans on social media are suggesting the pair will be biased towards City, who enter the match a point ahead of the Reds at the top of the table.
Supporters described PGMOL and the Premier League as 'incompetent' on Twitter, with one describing it as 'the worst possible combination' and others going as far as calling it 'match fixing.'
Others referenced Pep Guardiola's tongue-in-cheek comments about 'playing with 12' this week and one said the appointments were 'dodgy as hell.'
Bookmaker Paddy Power joked: 'The PL also confirmed that the Gallagher brothers will be the linesman for the game, with Chesney from Coronation Street as fourth official.'
Taylor, 43, has refereed 47 Liverpool matches during his career, with the Reds winning 27, drawing 11 and losing nine of them.
Only two red cards have gone against them in those 47 matches - Emre Can received two yellow cards in Liverpool's 4-1 defeat at Arsenal back in April 2015 and goalkeeper Doni was dismissed in a 3-2 win at Blackburn Rovers in 2012.
Taylor has previously officiated this fixture on three occasions - City's 4-0 win over the just-crowned champions Liverpool during Project Restart in July 2020, a 2-1 City win at the Etihad in January 2019 and a 2-2 draw between the sides in February 2013.
He has taken charge of the last two Premier League meetings between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford, with the Merseyside club winning 5-0 this season and 4-2 last season.
Tierney, 41, has taken charge of 18 Liverpool matches during his career and they have won 10, drawn six and lost just two of them.
He took charge of the 2-2 draw between the teams at Anfield back in October.
But Klopp won't be best pleased to know that Tierney is on VAR duty given he confronted the referee following Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Tottenham back in December.
The German was especially unhappy that Tierney sent off Liverpool's Andy Robertson for kicking through Emerson Royal in the second-half of the game but only booked Harry Kane for a wild tackle on Robertson earlier on.
Television footage picked up Klopp saying 'I have no problems with any referees, only you' as he confronted Tierney on the pitch.
homckmyz
483
if anthony taylor is the best referee in england... then english dont have referees