This weekend, the referee who gave Newcastle United a penalty against Wolves in the first half was demoted.
One week after giving Newcastle United a contentious penalty, referee Anthony Taylor was relegated to the Championship.
Taylor was the center of attention during last Saturday’s 2-2 draw between the Magpies and Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Wolves manager Gary O’Neil heaped scorn on him.
On the verge of halftime, Fabian Schar went down after being challenged by Hee-Chan Hwang, and Taylor’s penalty shot leveled the game at one. Despite a protracted VAR, the on-field determination was upheld.
Callum Wilson scored his second goal of the game with a conversion. Despite Hwang’s subsequent equalization later in the second half, O’Neil called the ruling “horrible” and “scandalous.”
“In the first half, there was no penalty,” stated O’Neil. It’s a shocking choice. Bad. It was a horrible on-field choice, and it was even worse that VAR did not step in. I believe they made a huge mistake.
“He goes to clear the ball, and he hardly makes any touch at all—just a quick glance of the boot.
“Technically, Chan receives the ball before Schar does because the ball reaches Chan’s other boot before Schar ever makes contact with him. Schar is already moving downward. For this reason, it was a bad choice.
In light of this, Taylor’s assignment to a Championship game this weekend rather than a Premier League game may not be a coincidence. The official from Manchester will oversee Preston North End’s match against Coventry City.
Sunday afternoon’s Luton Town match against Liverpool will include Taylor on VAR duty, but this is the first time since 2019 that he has officiated a second-tier game at Deepdale.
