Anthony Taylor has retired from refereeing with immediate effect, saying the “intense” pressure and constant scrutiny at the top of the game has taken its toll after more than two decades on the whistle.
The 47-year-old’s final match was Spain’s 1-0 victory over Portugal in the World Cup last 16 on 6 July, bringing to a close a career that included every major domestic cup final in England and some of European football’s biggest fixtures.
“Officiating at the elite level has been an immense privilege, but the pressure is intense and the scrutiny is constant,” Taylor said. “The time is now right to step aside and look forward to transitioning to the next chapter of my career.”
From prison officer to Premier League regular
Born in Wythenshawe, Manchester, Taylor worked as a prison officer before turning professional as a referee. He joined the Football League list at the start of the 2006-07 season and was promoted to the Premier League in 2010.
Over 16 seasons in the top flight, he took charge of 432 Premier League matches and a total of 668 professional games in England. His domestic honours list features virtually every showpiece occasion available to an English referee.
Taylor refereed the 2015 EFL Cup final, when Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0, and the Community Shield in the same year. He was also appointed to the 2018 Championship play-off final.
In the FA Cup, he made history in 2020 by becoming the first referee since 1901 to oversee two finals, as Arsenal defeated Chelsea 2-1. He had previously taken charge of the 2017 final, another 2-1 win for Arsenal against Chelsea.
Howard Webb, chief refereeing officer at Pro Ref, the body responsible for elite English match officials, paid tribute to Taylor’s contribution.
“Anthony has been a fantastic servant to the game over many years, both domestically and on the international stage,” Webb said. “He has been repeatedly trusted to officiate in the biggest games. We thank him for his immense contribution to the game and wish him every success in the next chapter of his career.”
Global stage and World Cup disappointment
Taylor spent 14 years on Fifa’s international list and took charge of 163 international fixtures. He was selected for the delayed Euro 2020 tournament, Euro 2024 and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as well as the Fifa Club World Cup in 2022 and 2025.
He was widely praised for his handling of Denmark’s Euro 2020 match against Finland, which was suspended after Christian Eriksen collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch.
Taylor was shortlisted to referee the 2022 World Cup final, but was ultimately ruled out because of political tensions between England and eventual finalists Argentina.
High-profile Uefa appointments – and abuse in Budapest
Uefa repeatedly turned to Taylor for major matches. He officiated the 2020 Uefa Super Cup, in which Bayern Munich beat Sevilla 2-1, and the 2021 Nations League final, where France defeated Spain 2-1.
He also refereed the 2023 Europa League final, when Sevilla beat Roma on penalties – a night that became a turning point in his relationship with abuse from fans and managers.
Roma manager Jose Mourinho called Taylor a “disgrace” twice in his post-match news conference before confronting him in a car park, an incident that earned the Portuguese a four-match ban. Taylor and his family were later shouted at by angry supporters as they walked through Budapest Airport.
In an interview with BBC Sport in October 2025, Taylor described the aftermath of that final as the worst abuse he had experienced.
“That’s the worst situation I’ve dealt with in terms of abuse,” Taylor said. “Not only because I was travelling with family members at the time, but it also highlights the impact of people’s behaviour on others. Even in a match like that, where there was actually no major mistakes in the game.”
‘Quite old’ for the elite level
In the same interview, Taylor admitted he was considering his future, pointing to the physical demands of the elite game.
“I’m 47 next week, so that’s quite old for somebody to be operating at this level, running around after people a lot younger than you,” he said. “It’s much more of a challenge now to maintain the levels of fitness and to rest and recover.”
His decision to step away leaves a significant vacancy among England’s leading referees at a time of structural change in officiating.
New era for English refereeing
Refereeing body Pro Ref – formerly known as PGMOL – has merged its officials into a single professional group for the 2026-27 season, covering both the Premier League and the Championship.
The restructuring is designed to speed up the development of emerging referees and provide more regular exposure to the highest levels of the game. Among those seen as beneficiaries of the new system are up-and-coming officials Farai Hallam and Tom Kirk.
Taylor’s retirement, and his frank assessment of the strains of top-level refereeing, is likely to intensify the debate over how officials are treated and protected in an era of 24-hour scrutiny, social media abuse and ever-increasing stakes in the modern game.
