Referee Jon Moss was sent a hilarious gift by a couple of Leicester stars as he rounded off his career at the King Power Stadium.
The 51–year-old oversaw the final game of his career in the East Midlands having begun in the Northern Counties Premier League over 23 years ago. He became a full-time Premier League referee in 2011 and Leicester marked the occasion in a somewhat cheeky fashion. As pictured on Foxes’ stopper Kasper Schmeichel ’s Instagram story, the club elected to hand him a signed Leicester shirt adorned with the message: “Thank you for retiring Mossy”.
The Danish goalkeeper was pictured alongside Moss, with striker Jamie Vardy also getting in on the action. Despite having rounded off his career at the King Power Stadium, the referee was certainly at the heart of the action in a controversial end-of-season affair in the East Midlands.
After a low-key first-half, the hosts took the lead through Player of the Season James Maddison. The goal left Southampton and Ralph Hasenhuttl incensed as Leicester received the ball after Vardy had received treatment for a head injury, despite the Saints holding possession at the time.
Following the incident, Schmeichel lofted the ball forwards with Lyanco failing to deal with the pressure of Vardy. The Leicester striker stole in but saw his low effort saved before Maddison was on hand to tap home into the empty net.
Saints boss Hasenhuttl suggested in his post-match press conference that his side should have been handed a goal by the Foxes. He said: “We all saw what happened. My view is when you have the ball and the referee stops the game, you have the ball back, but today it was different. We have to accept it but it was hard to understand.
Were Leicester right to play on in the build-up to their first goal? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
“When you kick it long and go for the header or the second ball, for me, this is not giving the ball back. Giving the ball back is when we have the ball and you wait until we have the ball and then you start attacking us, and that’s okay.
“I don’t know why Vardy pressed. He said he didn’t know he couldn’t. Then Lyanco went for the header and you think it’s a normal game, but it’s not.
“We had the ball in our half, and then they got the ball in their half and can kick it towards our goal and immediately attack. We always speak about respect and fair play but when you act like this, for me it’s not acceptable.
“The offer I made to let us score a goal after the kick-off wasn’t taken. They pressed us immediately again, so the situation was gone and the game was different.”
Meanwhile, the Saints were also beneficiaries on Moss’ final outing as a Premier League referee. James Ward-Prowse was handed the opportunity to net his tenth goal of the season from the penalty spot after Youri Tielemans had tripped Stuart Armstrong, a chance he duly converted.
