Michael Salisbury (born 1985) 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 ...

and former teacher who belongs to the Select Group of Referees in England and officiates 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 ...

Early and personal life

Salisbury was born in

Penwortham Penwortham () is a town and civil parish in South Ribble, Lancashire, England, on the south bank of the River Ribble facing the city of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. The town is at the most westerly crossing point of the river, with major road ...

in 1985. His father, Graham, is a former referee who retired at the end of the at the end of the 2020–21 season, after a 21-year career as an EFL referee. Salisbury has two children.

Career

Salisbury is a former PE teacher and previously taught at Parklands High School.

Refereeing

Salisbury was introduced to refereeing by his father, Graham, and began his refereeing career in 2001 in the local leagues in Preston. His father retired on the final day of the 2020–21 season, having officiated 588 Football League games, and Salisbury was his fourth official for the game. Salisbury was involved in his first professional game in 2010 as an Assistant Referee in the EFL. Salisbury began refereeing in the Vanarama National League in the 2015–16 season before being promoted to League 2 the following season. Salisbury was the reserve assistant referee for the 2016 FA Cup final which took place between Crystal Palace and

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

on 21 May 2016. On 29 June 2020, Salisbury refereed the

2020 EFL League Two play-off final The 2020 EFL League Two play-off final was an association football match played on 29 June 2020 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Exeter City F.C., Exeter City and Northampton Town F.C., Northampton Town to determine the fourth and final team ...

in Northampton Town's 4–0 win over Exeter City. On 3 May 2021, Salisbury refereed the 2020 FA Vase final between

Consett A.F.C. Consett Association Football Club is a association football, football club based in Consett in County Durham, England. They are currently members of the and play at Belle View Stadium. History The club was established on 1 July 1899 as Consett ...

and Hebburn Town which was a 3–2 win for Hebburn Town.

Premier League (2021–present)

Salisbury was promoted to the

as a Referee ahead of the 2021–22 season, having previously been an assistant referee in the league. His first Premier League game in charge was Aston Villa's 2–1 win over Crystal Palace at

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted interna ...

. Both clubs were subsequently charged with misconduct by the FA after both sets of players, unhappy with decisions made by Salisbury in the second half, and failed to conduct themselves in an orderly fashion. On 8 April 2023, Salisbury was the VAR official for a Brighton & Hove Albion's 2–1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur and failed to intervene after referee Stuart Attwell missed a trip by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg on Kaoru Mitoma in the penalty area when the score was 1–1. PGMOL subsequently offered an apology to Brighton, and Salisbury was dropped from the subsequent

fixtures. On 14 August 2023, Salisbury was the VAR official for a

's 1–0 win over

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. Manchester United goalkeeper André Onana collided with Wolves forward Sasa Kalajdzic in the penalty area during stoppage time and the on-field referee, Simon Hooper, did not award the penalty and Salisbury failed to intervene and award the penalty. PGMOL apologised to Wolves Manager Gary O'Neil after the game, and Salisbury along with Hooper and the Assistant VAR were dropped for the subsequent Premier League fixtures. On 27 November 2023, Salisbury refereed Fulham's 3–2 win over Wolves at

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football stadium in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 29,589; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game agains ...

, with Salisbury awarding three penalties during the match. Wolves manager Gary O'Neil said after the game that Salisbury admitted that Fulham's first penalty should have been overturned, with O'Neil also stating that he disputed with Salisbury over whether

Carlos Vinícius Carlos Vinícius Alves Morais (born 25 March 1995) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Fulham. He will become a free agent on 1 July 2025. With Benfica, Vinícius was awarded the Bola de Prata for his 18 ...

should have been sent off for a headbutt. The Premier League's Independent Key Match Incidents Panel found that Salisbury had made two errors during the match in awarding the first penalty to Fulham and not sending Vinícius off.

List of refereed domestic finals

References