Matt Le Tissier backs 'really easy' change to ensure Liverpool incident that enraged Jack Grealish is never repeated
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(Credit: Imago)
Oliver Walton
Mon 22 September 2025 16:07, UK
The Premier League have been urged to implement a new ruling on stopping the clock when the ball is dead to limit grievances around added-time after Jack Grealish fumed following Everton’s loss to Liverpool.
Former Southampton and England striker Matt Le Tissier exclusively told Football Insider that a new rule allowing referees to dictate the clock would add more transparency to the game after Jack Grealish claimed that referee Darren England was influenced by the Anfield crowd on Saturday (20 September).
Liverpool emerged with a 2-1 win against Everton in the Merseyside derby on Saturday as Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike scored in the first-half and Idrissa Gueye gave the visitors some hope with a strike in the second period.
David Moyes‘ side pushed for an equaliser late on as they aimed to pick up a huge point away at their cross-city rivals, but they were not aided by main official England as he only added three minutes on past the 90.
On-loan Toffees winger Grealish hit out at that particular decision following the clash, saying: “I’ve never seen that in the Premier League in the last two or three years,” and a new change to the rules has now been proposed that would end his complaints like his altogether.
Credit: IMAGO
Grealish also went on to imply that England was influenced by the Anfield crowd in some of the decisions he made, like only adding three minutes on at the end, saying: “You come to these stadiums and the crowd are on you and I think [the officials] feel like they’ve got to give it.”
Everton were unable to grab a leveller late on and the England winger was booked for his protests after the final whistle, while his boss Moyes also insisted following the game that he felt that another three minutes would have been played if Liverpool were 2-1 down, rather than winning the game.
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Le Tissier gave his take on their annoyances when speaking exclusively to Football Insider, as he proposed a change to the rules that would allow referees to dictate the clock and do away with added-time altogether.
He said: “I noticed that Jack Grealish claimed that the referee was influenced by the Anfield crowd as to how many minutes were going to be [added on].
“Now this is an interesting one, because I think this is a situation that could be solved really, really easily.
In every Premier League ground there is a massive scoreboard somewhere, I think you need to have the clock counting down on that scoreboard, and every time the referee stops play he just shouts ‘stop the clock.'”
“I think, that way it’s much clearer, the fans will know exactly how long is left.
You’ll never even know how many minutes are added, because if the referee sees a situation that happens on the pitch and he thinks ‘okay, I need to add a little bit of time on here,’ he just says ‘stop the clock,’ the stadium clock stops and everyone knows exactly where we are.
“We have the technology to be able to do that, and I think it would make it a lot easier and a lot fairer.
“I think stopping the clock when the ball goes out of play and everyone can see it is the fairest and most transparent way to do it.”
Former FIFA referee Keith Hackett proposed his own rule change to Football Insider after Everton’s loss to Liverpool, insisting that the Premier League should introduce an independent time-keeper, who operates a stop-clock inside the stadium.
Grealish was understandably aggrieved after his side’s loss against Liverpool, with another controversial moment that saw his teammate Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall seemingly booked for taking a quick free-kick.
Aside from his comments away from the pitch, the 30-year-old has begun the season excellently with the Merseyside club, with four assists from his first three league outings as Grealish picked up the Premier League Player of the Month award for August.
He also had the beating of Conor Bradley on Saturday as he breezed past him numerous times in the second-half and eventually set up Iliman Ndiaye to knock the ball down for Gueye’s goal.
He looks to be a man reborn on Merseyside, and some would say his early-season showings have been reminiscent of his previous form at his boyhood club that earned him a big-money move to City four years ago.