Premier League referee Anthony Taylor has criticised the "expectation of perfection" culture that officials are subject to, and says his family no longer go to his matches because of the abuse he receives. In an interview with BBC Sport, Taylor speaks publicly for the first time about being targeted by Roma fans as he walked through an airport with his family, external after the 2023 Europa League final. The 46-year-old says he is so concerned by attitudes towards referees, there are times he thinks, 'Is it all worth it?'. However, he also says being a top-flight official is one of the best jobs in the world. Taylor has been a Premier League referee for almost 15 years, officiated at the Qatar World Cup in 2022, the last two European Championships and has overseen the finals of both the European Super Cup final and Nations League. He believes football's 'win-at-all-costs' approach is having a detrimental effect on the mental health and performance of current and future referees.
'That's the worst situation I've dealt with'
Taylor was confronted by Roma boss Jose Mourinho after his side had lost the 2023 Europa League final on penalties to Sevilla. The English official showed yellow cards to 13 players during the match, and 25 minutes of added time were played across the full match, including extra time. Mourinho called Taylor a "disgrace" twice in a post-match news conference before confronting him in a car park - an incident the Portuguese was given a four-match ban for. Taylor was then shouted at by angry fans as he walked though Budapest Airport with his family. "That's the worst situation I've dealt with in terms of abuse," he says. "Not only because I was travelling with family members at the time, but it also highlights the impact of people's behaviour on others. Even in a match like that, where there was actually no major mistakes in the game." Taylor felt after the match there was an attempt to "shift focus on to somebody to blame". He adds: "For me, that's a great source of disappointment, frustration, anger. Why that's acceptable, I don't know - because I'm sure those individuals wouldn't like somebody to turn around and say that to them or their own children. It makes you reflect back on whether you made a mistake travelling with your family in the first place. They haven't been to one [match] since." Asked if he felt Mourinho's behaviour could have influenced the fans who abused him, he says: "Yeah. I think if we're being honest, yeah."
'Win-at-all costs approach means referees' mental health can suffer'
Taylor is not on social media because he does not want to "waste time" reading negative comments or opinions. Last year the Premier League launched an investigation following online abuse directed at the official. "If you're continually told you're not very good, whether that be by people in the media, by pundits, or even ex-officials, then people's mental health could potentially suffer," he says. "The footballing culture in general is, 'we need to win this game at all costs'. The lengths that people go to post-game with a lot of things now to spread false narratives, to spread malicious conspiracy theories... it creates a hugely negative environment for people to operate in." Taylor is also concerned by the treatment of officials in grassroots football. "Every single weekend you can go to any local park across the UK and you can see a parent on the sideline verbally abusing a young referee," he says. "That's not an environment conducive to people getting better. I don't understand how people think that's acceptable." Asked whether it is fair for top referees to expect a high level of scrutiny given what can be at stake on the pitch, Taylor says: "I wouldn't argue against scrutiny being there." But he adds: "I'm not saying scrutiny isn't to be expected, but everybody who watches football always sees a game through the eyes of their team. And the result of a football match and the culmination of a football season is multi-faceted. It's not dependent on one match official's decision. It's not dependent on one player missing one penalty in a game. It's not dependent on one coach making one tactical error during a game. The argument one decision has cost somebody the whole season, it's just factually not true because there'll be plenty of other incidents in a game or over that season where the results of games have been affected. What I'm saying is that you can have scrutiny and you can have critique. But it's very rarely balanced. Nobody really talks about the positive side of things these days, either." Referees' body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has a team of psychologists responsible for match officials' mental wellbeing, and works with mental health charity Mind.
VAR creating 'expectation of perfection'
The video assistant referee (VAR) system was introduced in the Premier League in 2019. Taylor believes it has created unrealistic expectations and that those who expected it to create a decision-making "utopia" were "way off the mark". The amount of scrutiny and the amount of analysis and chat around Premier League football means everybody has a quest for perfection," he says. "In reality, perfection doesn't exist. We're expecting referees to get every decision right. It is really important that we actually start to talk about people being fearful of failure or mistakes. We have to accept that if we don't create the right environment for people to thrive, then people will be fearful, and that will have a negative impact on individuals and performance in the long term. Everybody's an expert." Taylor says VAR has "completely shifted" the level of scrutiny. "It brought this expectation of perfection that it would solve absolutely everybody's problems and it would be a utopia," he adds. "In reality, those people were way off the mark. One week, people will say: 'We don't want VAR to be too forensic.' The next week they'll be going: 'How has VAR not intervened in this?' People really need to decide what they want. You can't one week say, 'we don't want to get involved because it ruins the flow of the game' and the next week turn round and say, 'this is a disgrace that VAR's not intervened here'. We need to bring our heads out of the clouds sometimes to really think a little bit more logically about what the technology's there for."
Heat at the Club World Cup 'brutal'
Taylor was one of the referees at the Club World Cup in the United States in the summer, when several matches were played in extreme heat. He says the conditions were on a "completely different level to what you're normally used to". Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said it was "impossible" to have a normal training session during the tournament while midfielder Enzo Fernandez said he felt "dizzy" while playing in "very dangerous" heat. "It was absolutely brutal," Taylor says. "We were really fortunate that we had the opportunity to do some significant preparations before we left the UK using some environmental chamber work. The conditions were really challenging." Next summer's World Cup will be held across North America. "I don't think it'll be a major problem if if we're able to prepare like people have done," says Taylor. "Individuals need to make sure they're prepared OK."
'Best job in the world'
Taylor is in his 17th season as a Premier League referee. "When it comes down to it, it's one of the best jobs in the world," he says. "You're right in the centre of the action in the most exciting league in the world." Asked how much longer he may officiate for, Taylor says: "I don't know, if I'm honest with you. I'm 47 next week, so that's quite old for somebody to be operating at this level, running around after people a lot younger than you. The whole focus is trying to make sure that we get to have two refereeing teams at the World Cup next year in America."
