Anthony Taylor (born 20 October 1978) is an English professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

from

Wythenshawe Wythenshawe () is an area of Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a large housing estate there in the 1920s. With an area of approximately , ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. In 2010, he was promoted to the list of Select Group Referees who officiate primarily in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, and in 2013 became a listed referee for

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

allowing him to referee European and international matches. In 2015, he officiated the Football League Cup final at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

when Chelsea defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2–0. Taylor returned to Wembley later that year to officiate the Community Shield as

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

beat Chelsea 1–0. He refereed the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

FA Cup finals, both between Chelsea and Arsenal; Arsenal won on both occasions 2–1. Upon the selection, he became the first man to referee a second FA Cup final since Arthur Kingscott in 1901.

Early life

Taylor was a student at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys.

Career

Early career

Taylor started refereeing in the

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

in 2002, progressing to officiate in the Conference North in 2004. He was appointed to

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

referees' list at the start of the 2006–07 season and his first appointment was a 0–0 draw between

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

and Peterborough United in a League Two match in August 2006. In November 2006, he refereed an England under-19s international

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against Switzerland under-19s at Gresty Road, the home of Crewe Alexandra; England won 3–2.

Professional career

Taylor's first

appointment was a February 2010 encounter between

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, which Fulham won 1–0. He refereed one more game in the top-flight during that season before being promoted to the League's list of Select Group of Referees for 2010–11. In September 2010 he took charge of his fourth Premier League match, contested by Blackburn Rovers and Fulham. The match ended 1–1. Taylor sent off three players in his first game of the 2011–12 season.

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

won 1–0 at

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

in a fixture which saw Jonny Howson and

Max Gradel Max-Alain Gradel (born 30 November 1987) is an Ivorian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), winger. Gradel received his first call-up to the Ivory Coast national team in November 2010. He ma ...

of Leeds and Boro's Tony McMahon dismissed, all for second bookable offences. Taylor refereed a total of 34 matches that season and dismissed eight players in total, including the three at Leeds. Taylor became a FIFA listed referee on 1 January 2013, making him eligible to officiate

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

European and FIFA international competitive games. In May 2013 he was fourth official to

Andre Marriner Andre Marriner (born 1 January 1971)

for the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...

. On the opening day of the 2013–14 season Taylor refereed Aston Villa's 3–1 victory away at Arsenal. He awarded Villa two penalties and dismissed Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny for two bookable offences.

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...

described Taylor's officiating of the match as "stubborn", while Villa manager Paul Lambert said that he thought the official "had a good game". On 1 March 2015, Taylor was the referee for the Football League Cup final between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Taylor refereed both the 2015 FA Community Shield and the 2015 Football League Cup final. On 26 April 2017, Taylor was chosen to be the main referee for the 2017 FA Cup final. On 26 May 2018 he was chosen to officiate the 2018 EFL Championship play-off final. On 16 September 2020, Taylor was chosen to be the main referee for the 2020 UEFA Super Cup. Anthony_Taylor_in_2020

On 12 June 2021, Taylor officiated a

UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's association footb ...

group stage match between Finland and Denmark. In the 43rd minute, Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch and required emergency treatment on the pitch before being transferred to a local hospital and stabilised. Taylor was praised for his calm but quick reaction to the situation, signalling for medical attention within seconds. The match was resumed later in the day once it became clear Eriksen's condition had improved. Taylor's earlier training in the prison service at HMP Manchester was cited as helpful for the situation by mentor Chris Foy. In October 2021, Taylor was chosen to referee the 2021 UEFA Nations League Final between

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In a May 2022

pronouncement, Taylor was listed as one of six English officials to oversee matches at that November and December's World Cup. The list also included referee Michael Oliver and four compatriot assistant referees—Simon Bennett, Gary Beswick, Stuart Burt, and Adam Nunn. In May 2023,

announced Taylor as the referee for the 2023 UEFA Europa League final, with Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn as assistants, and Michael Oliver as fourth official. In July 2024, Taylor was chosen to referee a

knockout stage A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

match between

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Statistics

Statistics for all competitions. No records are available prior to 2006–07.Anthony Taylor , Latest Football Betting Odds , Soccer Base
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References

External links

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Anthony Taylor {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Anthony Sportspeople from Wythenshawe English football referees Premier League referees UEFA Champions League referees UEFA Europa League referees Living people 1978 births FA Cup final referees UEFA Euro 2020 referees 2022 FIFA World Cup referees UEFA Euro 2024 referees People educated at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys