Anthony Taylor has been retained on the PGMOL’s roster of referees for this weekend’s matches, despite his strange mistake that prevented Cody Gakpo from scoring against West Ham.
Taylor’s participation late in Liverpool’s 2-2 tie with West Ham was noteworthy, ranging from the initial call to the on-field cover-up to the peculiar explanation following the game.
The referee signaled for play to continue and urged West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola to move, but Gakpo was about to charge the ball down and shoot into an open net when the referee blew his whistle.
After approaching Areola, who appeared to realize his mistake, Taylor called the West Ham physiotherapists onto the field for treatment, as there didn’t appear to be any problem for the Frenchman.
Liverpool was denied what would have been a significant victory in the most recent of many perplexing decisions made by Premier League officials this season.
Despite the obvious mistake that Taylor made and the inevitable consequences, the 45-year-old will officiate in the Premier League this weekend.
PGMOL announced their appointments to the elite division, with Taylor in charge of Saturday’s 3 p.m. match between Burnley and Newcastle.
Although it is unlikely to be the case, Paul Tierney’s appointment to the most high-profile match of the weekend—Liverpool vs. Tottenham—may be seen as a kind of demotion.
It is more likely that people in PGMOL accepted Taylor’s version of events and did not find anything wrong with his performance at the London Stadium.
It will only contribute to the growing mistrust of referees in English football, especially since the Premier League implemented video assistant refereeing in 2019.
These days, it is difficult, if not impossible, for a fixture to go by without an incident, which suggests that a complete overhaul of PGMOL is necessary to raise standards.
The fact that Taylor, one of the Premier League’s most dependable referees, can make a mistake like this without facing any blowback from the community emphasizes the problem that still exists.