Paul Tierney has been assigned to fourth official and VAR duties in the Premier League this weekend, with the referee having been thrust into the spotlight after criticism from Jurgen Klopp.

Tierney has been appointed to serve as the fourth official for West Ham's home match against Manchester United on Sunday.

The 42-year-old will then take on VAR duties for Nottingham Forest's clash with Southampton on Monday.

The appointments are considered part of the typical rotation pattern of officials across referee, fourth official and VAR roles, rather than a reaction to his performance in Liverpool's 4-3 win over Tottenham.

Tierney has taken charge of the most Premier League matches this season, with the match at Anfield marking his 28th top flight game of the campaign.

Paul Tierney has been appointed to VAR and fourth official duties for this weekend's matches 

Refereeing body, the PGMOL, strongly defended the official on Sunday following criticism from Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.

Klopp had accused Tierney of having an agenda against Liverpool after the match, marking the latest incident in a long-running spat between himself and the official.

The Liverpool boss had been booked by the official after he had celebrated the Reds winning goal in front of fourth official John Brooks - pulling his hamstring in the process. 

Klopp had previously been angered by the decision to award Tottenham a free-kick which led to Richarlison's equaliser just moments earlier.

The Liverpool boss had claimed Tierney had said something untoward when he was cautioned.

Refereeing body, the PGMOL, whose officials wear microphones, listened back to the audio and disputed Klopp's claims, saying that Tierney 'acted in a professional manner throughout'.

'PGMOL is aware of the comments made by Jurgen Klopp after his side's fixture with Tottenham Hotspur,' a statement read on Sunday.

'Match officials in the Premier League are recorded in all games via a communications system and having fully reviewed the audio of referee Paul Tierney from today's fixture, we can confirm he acted in a professional manner throughout including when issuing the caution to the Liverpool manager so, therefore, we strongly refute any suggestion that Tierney's actions were improper.'

Referees' chiefs are willing to share the audio recording with the Premier League, which could led to Klopp being handed a second touchline ban of the season.

The conversation is likely to be made public at the end of any disciplinary case as the FA release written reasons with the outcome.

Tierney had faced criticism for not dismissing eventual match winner Jota a high foot on Oliver Skipp during the match.

Skipp had earlier escaped punishment for a foul on Luis Diaz, while Richarlison had seen a penalty appeal waved away for Spurs in the second half.

Klopp had insisted post-match that Liverpool had a history with Tierney, pointing to the official failing to send off Harry Kane during a 2-2 draw at Tottenham in December 2021, but did dismiss Andy Robertson.

The Liverpool boss was previously warned about his conduct after being banned for one match and fined £30,000 after the FA successfully won an appeal against the leniency of his punishment for berating an assistant referee during October's home win over Manchester City.  

Klopp has been strongly criticised for his latest outburst, with the CEO of Ref Support UK having demanded Liverpool face a points deduction for his actions.