Prominent Premier League referee Anthony Taylor has publicly revealed that the torrent of abuse and threats he faces, both inside stadiums and online, has forced his family to stop attending his matches.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Taylor, who has officiated at the highest level for nearly 15 years, admitted the escalating hostility toward match officials has made him question whether the profession is “all worth it.”
Taylor specified that his family has not attended a match since a particularly harrowing incident at Budapest Airport in 2023. The incident occurred shortly after Taylor officiated the Europa League final between AS Roma and Sevilla, a match that ended in a win for the Spanish side. Following the game, former Roma manager José Mourinho confronted Taylor in the stadium car park, an event for which Mourinho was later banned.
The abuse culminated when Taylor and his family were targeted by angry Roma fans while traveling at the airport.
Highlighting the emotional toll of the situation, Taylor directly addressed the impact on his loved ones: “That’s the worst situation I’ve dealt with in terms of abuse. Not only because I was travelling with family members at the time, but it also highlights the impact of people’s behaviour on others.”
Despite the contentious match, Taylor insisted there were “actually no major mistakes in the game,” suggesting the vitriol was simply an effort to shift blame.
He questioned the rationale behind the fans’ actions: “Why that’s acceptable, I don’t know – because I’m sure those individuals wouldn’t like somebody to turn around and say that to them or their own children.”
The experience proved so traumatic that his family has since completely disengaged from his professional life. “It makes you reflect back on whether you made a mistake travelling with your family in the first place. They haven’t been to one [match] since.”
Taylor, who has also officiated at the FIFA World Cup and European Championships, warned that football’s current ‘win-at-all-costs’ mentality is detrimentally affecting the mental health and performance of current and future referees across all tiers of the sport.
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