English star referee Anthony Taylor talks about insults from fans – and how it affects his family.
Anthony Taylor, top referee from England, criticized in an interview with BBC the “expectation of perfection” that referees are subject to.
Additionally, Taylor revealed that his family no longer comes to the stadium due to insults against him.
“That was the worst situation”
After the 2023 Europa League final (4:1 in penalty shootout for FC Sevilla), Taylor was shouted at by AS Roma fans when he was walking through Budapest airport with his family.
“That was the worst situation I’ve experienced regarding insults,” he admitted, adding: “Not only because I was traveling with my family at that time, but also because it shows what impact people’s behavior can have on others. Even in a game like this, where there were actually no major mistakes.”
“That makes you think”
After the game, Taylor felt that there was an attempt to “direct attention to someone who can be blamed.” He added: “For me, this is a major source of disappointment, frustration, and anger.”
Taylor drew the following conclusion from this experience: “That makes you think whether it was even right to travel with your family. Since then, they haven’t attended any more games.”
Mourinho with sharp criticism
In that final, Taylor showed 13 yellow cards and gave a total of 25 minutes of added time, which is why then Roma coach José Mourinho called him a “disgrace” in the press conference and confronted the referee in the parking lot. For this, Mourinho was suspended for four games.
When asked whether he believes Mourinho’s behavior could have influenced the fans who insulted him, he answered: “Yes. I think if we’re honest, yes.”
Taylor avoids social media for good reason, as he doesn’t want to “waste time” reading negative comments or opinions.
“Can affect mental health”
“If you constantly hear that you’re not good enough, whether from media representatives, experts, or even former referees, that can affect mental health,” he says.
The 46-year-old added: “The efforts people make after the game to spread false representations, malicious conspiracy theories… that creates an extremely negative environment in which people have to work.”
The introduction of the video assistant referee (VAR) has, according to Taylor, created unrealistic expectations. “In reality, there is no perfection. We expect referees to make every decision correctly. It’s really important that we start talking about people having fear of failure or mistakes,” he said.
“Expectation of perfection”
Taylor said that VAR has “completely changed” the level of control: “It has brought with it this expectation of perfection, that it would solve absolutely all problems and be a utopia.”
“People really need to decide what they want. You can’t say one week: ‘We don’t want to intervene because it ruins the flow of the game,’ and then the next week say: ‘It’s a shame that VAR didn’t intervene here,'” Taylor clarified.
“We sometimes need to get our heads out of the clouds to think a bit more logically about what the technology is actually for,” he added.
“Is all this even worth it?”
Taylor repeatedly asked himself: “Is all this even worth it?” But he came to the conclusion that being a top referee is one of the best jobs in the world.
“You’re in the middle of the action of the most exciting league in the world,” said Taylor, who has been refereeing in the Premier League for about 15 years.