Premier League and World Cup referee Taylor retires
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- Anthony Taylor, 47, announced his retirement with immediate effect after 20 years and 831 matches, with his final assignment being Spain's 1-0 World Cup last-16 win over Portugal on 6 July.
- Taylor refereed 432 Premier League matches after promotion in 2010 and took charge of every major domestic cup final, including the 2017 and 2020 FA Cup finals — the latter making him the first referee since 1901 to officiate two FA Cup finals.
- Taylor earned widespread praise for his handling of the Euro 2020 match between Denmark and Finland, which was halted when Christian Eriksen collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch.
- Taylor was shortlisted to referee the 2022 World Cup final but was dropped because of political tensions between England and finalists Argentina.
- Roma boss Jose Mourinho confronted Taylor in a car park after the 2023 Europa League final, calling him a "disgrace" twice in a post-match news conference and receiving a four-match ban; Taylor and his family were later verbally abused by fans at Budapest Airport, which he called "the worst situation I've dealt with in terms of abuse."
- Before becoming a professional referee, Taylor worked as a prison officer; he spent 14 years on Fifa's list and officiated 163 international matches in total.
Why it matters: Taylor's exit strips English refereeing of one of its most decorated officials at a moment when abuse of match officials is under fresh scrutiny — his own accounts of the Mourinho car-park confrontation and family-targeted harassment at Budapest Airport lay bare the personal toll of elite refereeing. Pro Ref, where Howard Webb now oversees officiating, loses 432 Premier League matches of experience ahead of a post-World Cup season.
