Steven Gerrard was rightly critical of referee Jon Moss’ performance in Aston Villa‘s 2-1 loss to Liverpool, with both sets of supporters in agreement.
Villa shocked Liverpool early on Tuesday night, with Douglas Luiz firing in after just three minutes, only to be pegged back by Joel Matip‘s goal soon after.
Sadio Mane then headed home the winner in the second half, in a game frequently broken up by minor fouls – 10 of which were awarded to Liverpool and 12 to Villa.
Moss was referee for the night, and was central to a number of confusing decisions, including a moment where he initially looked to call a foul for Villa before allowing play to go on and then eventually pulling it back.
Liverpool could feel most aggrieved, given a clear offside was not flagged in the buildup to Luiz’s opener, but after the game it was Gerrard who questioned Moss’ display.
“No comment, I just hope that it’s looked at. That’s all I’ll say, I just hope it’s looked at. Hope, I hope it’s looked at,” he told reporters.
? "He's retiring at the end of the season."
Gerrard ? "Is he?… Good."
Steven Gerrard on referee Jon Moss, Brutal. ? pic.twitter.com/9DKWCtehgW
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 11, 2022
“You just asked me a question so you obviously think it, don’t you? I’ve answered your question, I just hope Jon’s performance is looked at.
“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, 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.”
When informed that Moss had decided to retire at the end of the season, Gerrard replied: “Is he? Good.”
Normally, when one manager is critical of a referee post-match it is a view not shared by the opposition – but that was not the case this time.
Many Liverpool fans agreed…
Jon Moss doesn't have a clue what he's doing, does he?
— Sam McGuire (@SamMcGuire90) May 10, 2022
Jon Moss would be off the pace officiating a game of bowls here…
— Henry Jackson (@HenryJackson87) May 10, 2022
I’m a liverpool fan and even I’m relieved Jon Moss is retiring at the end of the season after watching that half
— Ben Kelly (@bkelly776) May 10, 2022
Jon Moss is a genuine disgrace. There will be more injuries in this match because he’s got precisely no control over it. Both sets of players & fans will feel aggrieved, not because he’s favouring one side or the other but because he is uniformly dreadful.
— And Could He Play (@andcouldheplay7) May 10, 2022
Can tell Jon Moss is retiring at the end of the season – he refereed that game like he was pissed.
— Biggies Malls 2.0 (@Biggies_MaIIs) May 10, 2022
Why was Jon Moss ever allowed to referee in the Premier League again after he got caught by the pitch side microphones saying he was giving a penalty despite having no clue what happened when we played Spurs in 17/18
— LFCJ (@Ifcj__) May 10, 2022
We can all be biased towards our own team, but I thought Jon Moss was much kinder to Liverpool than Villa last night.
He made errors against us, too, but I'd have been seething about his performance if I was a Villa fan. He was shocking.
Right time to retire.
— Henry Jackson (@HenryJackson87) May 11, 2022
A number of journalists were also critical…
Jon Moss has been remarkably bad here. Proper end of season, flip-flops on stuff.
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) May 10, 2022
Jon Moss looking away from the action so he doesn't see Trent shove Coutinho might be my favourite bit of refereeing so far in this absolute shitshow at Villa Park.
— Muhammad Butt (@muhammadbutt) May 10, 2022
Aston Villa 1 Liverpool 1 at HT. Referee Jon Moss is smiling as he goes off. The Villa fans are not smiling.
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) May 10, 2022
Jon Moss struggling here. #avfc
— Ashley Preece (@PreeceObserver) May 10, 2022
One of Jon Moss' last games as a referee – and not one of his best. #AVLLIV
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) May 10, 2022
Gerrard will almost certainly be rebuked for his comments, as Frank Lampard was following his criticism of Stuart Attwell following Everton‘s 2-0 loss at Anfield in April.
But there should be a measure of accountability for officials when their standards slip as they did on Tuesday night, with Moss appearing to struggle to keep up with the intensity of the game.
The 51-year-old is, of course, due to retire at the end of the season, so it is unlikely that the situation will affect his position between now and then.
