Premier League referee Anthony Taylor has criticised football’s growing “expectation of perfection” and revealed that his family stopped attending his matches because of the abuse he faces.
In his first major interview since being targeted by Roma fans after the 2023 Europa League final, Taylor described how the hostility reached his family when they walked through an airport together.
The pressure of perfection
The 46-year-old official says the constant scrutiny sometimes makes him question whether his job is worth the stress. Despite this, he still calls refereeing at the highest level one of the best jobs in the world.
Taylor has been a Premier League referee for nearly 15 years. He has officiated at the Qatar World Cup in 2022, the 2020 European Championship, and the finals of both the European Super Cup and Nations League.
He believes football’s “win-at-all-costs” mentality harms both the mental health and performance of referees at every level.
The Roma incident that crossed the line
After Roma lost the Europa League final to Sevilla on penalties in 2023, Taylor faced furious criticism from Roma boss José Mourinho.
Taylor issued 13 yellow cards during the game, which saw 25 minutes of added time across normal and extra time. Mourinho called him a “disgrace” twice in a press conference and later confronted him in a car park, an incident that earned the coach a four-match ban.
Soon after, angry fans verbally abused Taylor as he walked through Budapest Airport with his family.
“That’s the worst situation I’ve ever dealt with in terms of abuse,” he says. “It wasn’t just about me. It showed how people’s behaviour can affect others. My family were with me, and that made it even harder.”
Taylor says there was an attempt after the match to “shift blame” onto him. “It makes you angry and disappointed,” he says. “Those same people wouldn’t accept that kind of treatment towards themselves or their children.”
He regrets travelling with his family that day. “They haven’t been to a single match since,” he adds.
When asked if Mourinho’s behaviour influenced the fans’ abuse, Taylor answers: “If we’re honest, yes.”
Referees under mental strain
Taylor avoids social media because he does not want to waste time reading abuse or negative comments. Last year, the Premier League launched an investigation after he became the target of online harassment.
“If you keep hearing that you’re not good enough—from media, pundits, or even former officials—it can seriously damage your mental health,” he says.
He criticises football’s culture of obsession with winning, calling it “toxic.” “People spread false stories and conspiracy theories after games,” he explains. “It creates a negative environment that hurts everyone involved.”
Taylor says the same problem exists in grassroots football. “Every weekend, you can see parents shouting abuse at young referees in local parks. That’s not how people improve. I can’t understand why anyone thinks it’s acceptable.”
He accepts scrutiny as part of the job but believes it often lacks balance. “Fans always see a game through their team’s eyes,” he says. “No single decision defines a season. One mistake doesn’t decide a title or relegation.”
He adds that while criticism is fair, it’s rarely even-handed. “Nobody talks about the positives anymore,” he says.
The referees’ body, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), now employs psychologists and works with mental health charity Mind to support officials’ wellbeing.
The burden of VAR
The introduction of the video assistant referee (VAR) system in 2019 has added new pressure, Taylor believes.
“People thought VAR would make everything perfect, but that was never realistic,” he says. “Perfection doesn’t exist in football. Yet we expect referees to get every decision right.”
He says the growing fear of failure harms officials’ confidence. “If referees don’t feel supported, they’ll become afraid to make decisions, and that damages performance in the long term.”
Taylor believes VAR has “completely changed” public expectations. “It created this belief that every problem could be fixed instantly,” he says. “But fans can’t have it both ways. One week, people say VAR ruins the flow of the game. The next, they complain it didn’t intervene.”
He urges fans and pundits to think more logically about technology’s role. “We need to come down from the clouds and be realistic,” he says.
Battling extreme conditions
Taylor officiated at the Club World Cup in the United States during the summer, where he described the heat as “brutal.”
“The conditions were on a completely different level,” he recalls. “We prepared using environmental chamber training before leaving the UK, which really helped.”
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said normal training was “impossible” due to the heat, while midfielder Enzo Fernández admitted he felt “dizzy” on the pitch.
Taylor believes next summer’s World Cup across North America will be manageable with proper preparation. “As long as everyone prepares well, it shouldn’t be a major issue,” he says.
Still proud of the job
Now in his 17th Premier League season, Taylor still calls refereeing “one of the best jobs in the world.”
“You’re in the centre of the action in the most exciting league there is,” he says.
Approaching his 47th birthday, he acknowledges the physical demands. “I’m chasing players much younger than me,” he jokes. “But the focus now is to help ensure we have two strong refereeing teams ready for the World Cup in America next year.”
