The decision to designate Craig Pawson as the referee for Saturday's FA Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea has not gone down well with everyone.Saturday might be the last important step in Liverpool's quest for what could still be an unbelievable quadruple of trophies by the end of the season.
Chelsea, who came within millimeters of seizing the lead in their tremendously fascinating 0-0 draw in the Carabao Cup final back in February, which required penalties to separate the sides, stands in their way at Wembley.
Three goals were disallowed for the teams owing to offsides, necessitating the use of VAR to rule them out.Pawson will make the decisions on Saturday, with Paul Tierney in the booth at Stockley Park, fresh after Mikel Arteta's dissatisfaction with him, and the referee appointment hasn't pleased fans at all.
Despite the fact that it appears that only Liverpool fans have a problem with Pawson being the referee on Saturday, the Reds have a decent track record with the 43-year-old.
Pawson has been a Premier League referee since 2013, and in that time, he has taken charge of the Liverpool team 31 times, with only six defeats.They did, however, lose to West Ham United earlier this season, with the Sheffield-born manager making the decisions, in a match that left Jurgen Klopp frustrated.
The game was fraught with controversy, as the Reds claimed Alisson was fouled in the build-up to the opening goal, and both team could have had a player sent off.
During the defeat against West Ham, Alisson clashes with Pawson. Image credit: PA Images
Klopp expressed his displeasure with several of the calls made after the game, saying, "The arm from Ogbonna is here, so I believe it's a clear foul on Alisson. The referee made it simple for himself by adding, "Let's see what the VAR says."
"They stated it wasn't plain and obvious, which I don't understand.People will accuse me of hunting for justifications, but I am not. I realize that we aren't particularly good enough to lose football games. We lost it today, which is unfortunate, but I accept it.
"When it comes to game situations, though, a referee must make standard judgements. That was not his intention.
"It was an obvious red card in my opinion (the Cresswell tackle on Henderson). Discussion is not possible. You can't enter a challenge like this.
"But, obviously, we can't make these decisions, and I wasn't sure what the ref would say now, but he seemed confident in his decisions during the game. The ref is everything."
Pawson will undoubtedly be the center of attention when the match at Wembley begins on Saturday.
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