Paul Tierney and David Coote, officials for the Manchester United vs Man City 2023 FA Cup final, were trolled on social media after Jack Grealish was given a handball at Wembley on Saturday. Bruno Fernandes scored for the Red Devils, taking the game to 1-1 at half-time.
Grealish was adjudged to have handled the ball inside his box. Match referee Paul Tierney’s on-field decision was reviewed. The VAR referee Coote decided that it was in fact a penalty for United. Fernandes sent Stefan Ortega the wrong way to score from the spot.
İlkay Gündoğan, who made history for scoring the fastest goal in FA Cup finals, scored a second after halftime to take back the lead. The score was 2-1.
Meanwhile, Tierney and Coote were trolled on social media.
“Paul Tierney from Salford refereeing and David Coote the Man United fan on VAR today 🤔” a Twitter user said.
“Baffled how Paul Tierney and Coote on VAR have for the job for the FA Cup final 😂 they are arguably the worst officials in the prem,” another one added.
“Paul Tierney and David Coote. If you ever want proof that referees don’t get punished for being shite, here you go,” a third one tweeted.
Who are Paul Tierney and David Coote?
Paul Tierney’s team for the FA Cup final between Man United and Pep Guardiola’s City includes – Peter Bankes, and reserve assistant referee Adrian Holmes. Assistant referees Neil Davies and Scott Ledger work alongside Tierney on Saturday.
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Tierney is 42 years old. He has been a Premier League referee since 2014 and has officiated 158 games. He was the assistant referee at the 2010 FA Cup final between Chelsea and Portsmouth and also at the 2009 FA Cup semi-final. He has handed out 16 red cards and 544 yellow cards in the Premier League.
David Coote, on the other hand, has been officiating since he was 16. The 40-year-old refereed in the Notts Alliance League, the Northern Counties East Football League, the Northern Premier League and the Conference North.
He refereed his first Premier League game in 2018.
