Referee Anthony Taylor To Officiate Chelsea Vs Manchester City Clash

Embattled British referee, Anthony Taylor will officiate Sunday’s Premier League game between Chelsea and Manchester City.

Most Chelsea fans believe that Anthony Taylor hardly officiates in favour of the West London club and they were relieved that he has been demoted to the EFL Championship, England’s second-tier league.

Recall that Taylor didn’t officiate any Premier League game as a centre-referee last weekend due to the demotion following his controversial penalty call in the contentious Newcastle United’s 2-2 draw with Wolves on October 28, 2023.

During the game, Taylor thought Hwang Hee-chan of Wolves had fouled Fabian Schar of Newcastle United, even though replays of the incident showed very little contact.

Jarred Gillett, the video assistant referee, did not ask Taylor to use the pitchside monitor to look into the incident.

A PGMOL panel consisting of five people assessed the officials’ decisions and decided that the penalty was not justified.

Hence, for the first time in four years, Anthony Taylor officiated in the Championship as a punishment for the wrong decision.

Despite being demoted to the second tier, he officiated on Sunday’s 1-1 draw between Luton and Liverpool at Kenilworth Road as the fourth official.

A day before the game, Taylor officiated Preston North End’s 3-2 victory over Coventry City in an EFL Championship game on Saturday. It was his first second-tier refereeing assignment since 2019 and he was involved in another contentious penalty call.

Replays revealed that Kyle McFadzean of Coventry made very little contact with Milutin Osmajic, yet the 45-year-old referee declared it a penalty.

Chelsea would have no choice but to deal with the controversial Anthony Taylor once again when Manchester City visit Stamford Bridge at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Chelsea who defeated Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 on Monday night would want to get at least a point against the reigning Premier League champions so that they can move beyond the 10th spot.