The verdict on Anthony Taylor, after 136,000 people signed petition for his ban from officiating Chelsea games

anthony taylor

Anthony Taylor would still officiate games involving Chelsea in future following some controversial decisions he made in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Sunday, even after a petition against him has been signed by 136,000 people.

Anthony Taylor made some controversial calls against Chelsea

Premier League referee, Anthony Taylor, received great backlash from the footballing world due to some harsh decisions he made against Chelsea in the encounter with their London rivals, Spurs. Less than a minute before Tottenham’s first goal of the game, Rodrigo Bentancur made a late sliding challenge on Kai Havertz and caught him in the ankle, but Anthony Taylor waved for play-on and it led to the goal. Chelsea players, fans, and even their manager were very unhappy and made it known to the officials.

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Later on, Reece James put Chelsea in front again with less than 20 minutes plus added time to go. And yet again, Tottenham needed a harsh referee decision to equalize. Harry Kane scored the equaliser after a series of corner kicks, but before then Christian Romero had pulled Marc Cucurella’s hair. When the corner before Kane’s goal was played, Romero could be seen pulling Cucurella down to the ground with his hair, with Cucurella complaining to the ref immediately after the ball was cleared for another corner. After much deliberation, Taylor also decided that it didn’t warrant a free kick or a card. In the ensuing corner, Tottenham equalized, much to Chelsea’s chagrin.

Taylor wouldn’t be banned from refereeing games involving Chelsea

Now while we can place blame on VAR and other match officials, the centre referee makes the decisions with advice from the others—which is why everyone is furious with Anthony Taylor. The two managers of the clubs, Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte, had a face-off at the end of the game, which consequently led to their being red-carded. Speaking on if Taylor should officiate a Chelsea game again, Tuchel said,

Some of the fans believe that, but not me. I can guarantee that everyone in the dressing room believes that. The players are present on the field and are aware of what is happening.

However, yesterday, the Daily Mail reported that the Professional Game Management Officials (PGMOL) will not suspend or ban Anthony Taylor from officiating Chelsea games. But of course, as is the rule, he won’t officiate any Chelsea games in the near future because referees don’t officiate matches involving the same team in a short space of time. Instead, there are reports that important decisions by the referee will be analysed by an independent body, and the results of such analysis will be disseminated to all 20 clubs playing in the Premier League.

Anthony Taylor, who is 43, is FIFA-listed and is expected to officiate in the upcoming FIFA World Cup. He has officiated many important games since coming into the limelight of the Premier League in 2010. He was the centre referee when Chelsea won the EFL cup against Tottenham 7 years ago, as well as when they lost to Arsenal in the Community Shield and FA Cup final in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

anthony taylor

Following his bad decisions against Chelsea on Sunday, fans drafted an online petition calling for his ban against officiating Chelsea games, which over 136,000 people have signed. And in order to buttress their point, the petition includes several other controversial decisions he has made over the years against Chelsea.

But while many feel that he was totally wrong with his decisions and might have a thing or two against Chelsea, he will not be banned from officiating their games. Some other football thought leaders and former referees also believe that VAR should intervene in crucial decisions a lot more in the Premier League. What do you think about the decision of the PMOL concerning Anthony Taylor?

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