Brendan Rodgers wants clarification over Lee Mason’s appointment for Liverpool’s St Stephen’s Day defeat at Manchester City despite accepting an £8,000 fine for questioning the referee’s integrity.
The Liverpool manager accepted an English Football Association charge and subsequent fine on Wednesday following comments made after his side’s 2-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium last month. He had asked why a referee from Greater Manchester – Mason is from Bolton – should officiate a game in Manchester when Mike Dean, from the Wirral, does not get Merseyside fixtures. The same applies to Chris Foy from St Helens, and Dean was dropped from officiating the 2006 FA Cup final between Liverpool and West Ham United for geographical reasons.
Rodgers, who received no explanation to accompany his fine from the FA, said: “I made factual points. In time I will take my chance to do that [ask for the FA’s reasons]. I never want to get involved in that sort of propaganda. I thought I was looking after the club and people were saying they were surprised because I’ve never been like that towards referees. What I was saying was a logical look at the appointment. Lee Mason is a good guy. Hopefully I will get an explanation from the Football Association or referees’ association.”
The Liverpool manager admits he only accepted the FA’s punishment to concentrate on the team’s pursuit of Champions League qualification. His fourth-placed team head to Stoke City tomorrow and could have their striker Daniel Sturridge available for the first time in seven weeks following an ankle injury.
“My view hasn’t changed,” Rodgers added. “I obviously accept the punishment but I’m not one who is the enemy to the officials. My history will show that, I have always supported and encouraged them. I was disappointed after the game, disappointed with the outcome (the fine) considering my history but all I was doing was speaking honestly and in no way was I questioning the integrity of the referee.
“I was just talking about the logic and the facts about other appointments would prove that true I am sure. The only reason I never challenged it was because I didn’t want anything getting in the way of what we are trying to do here. All I want for us to talk about is our football.”
Sturridge’s fitness is timely for Rodgers, although the striker is not guaranteed to be involved at Stoke. But 12 months on from Sturridge’s £12 million arrival from Chelsea, and the £8.5m capture of Philippe Coutinho from Internazionale, the Liverpool manager does not anticipate such a productive return from this January transfer window.
“If you look at the clubs who got maximum points over the Christmas period, it was the ones with big squads,” he said, “We know what we need to do now. We are probably playing catch-up on teams that have been able to build over a few seasons.
“This window will be more difficult than last year’s because the team is now in a different point of its growth and the type of players we want might be available with a lot less regularity. We have done the same preparation and diligence as we did to get those two in last year so we need to see what’s going to be available who can help us.”
Luis Suarez, meanwhile, has been named the English Premier League player of the month for December.
Guardian service
