Revealed: The man responsible for Chelsea’s centre spot huddle after Premier League referee Paul Tierney is caught up in ‘brainchild’ of rugby league legend

Isa, the 37-year-old Samoan icon who achieved legendary status with Wigan Warriors, was appointed as the club's player support and development officer in February 2025. Despite coming from a different sporting code, his impact on the atmosphere at Cobham has been instantaneous. Isa’s transition to football follows a career-ending injury in 2024, where a fractured fibula and dislocated ankle sidelined him during Wigan's trophy-winning run. The practice of the huddle, often considered the brainchild of those with backgrounds in rugby league where collective focus is paramount, has become a staple of Chelsea's matchday routine.

“That comes from unity,” Rosenior told BBC’s Match of the Day a week ago. “That comes from the players. It doesn’t come from me. As their manager, it makes me really proud to see. They’ve taken a lot of message on board from not just myself, but from the staff. Willie Isa is a top man and he’s from rugby, he’s from New Zealand, and he’s spoken a lot about our togetherness and the players have taken it on board.”

While the Blues perform this huddle before both kick-offs , their insistence on staging it exactly in the centre circle led to Saturday's awkward confrontation with the match official. Referee Paul Tierney was also heavily scrutinised for his role in the incident. Rather than moving away, the official stood his ground in the middle of the centre circle, resulting in a viral moment that saw Enzo Fernandez laughing and Cole Palmer placing an arm around him. The scenes were compared to a prank from television duo Ant and Dec, who were watching from the stands as Newcastle supporters.

Liam Rosenior was far from pleased with the situation, indicating that the club would be asking for an official explanation regarding Tierney's positioning. "I'll be speaking to PGMOL and the refs to get an understanding of why that happened today," Rosenior said after Saturday's 1-0 defeat. "We were told that in the rulebook you can be where you want and it's about timing. I'm disappointed. I'm going to make it clear. I want to protect my players and I'm respectful to the game."

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