Anthony Taylor appointed referee for Chelsea v Man City in Premier League after Championship demotion

SourceBBC

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Anthony Taylor will return to the Premier League to referee Sunday’s game between Chelsea and Manchester City after his demotion to the Championship.

The referee was demoted after giving Newcastle a controversial penalty in their 2-2 draw with Wolves last month.

Taylor deemed Hwang Hee-chan to have fouled Fabian Schar but replays of the incident showed little contact.

PGMOL, the governing body for referees, said the decision was incorrect and VAR should have overturned the call.

Jarred Gillett was the video assistant referee, but he did not advise Taylor to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.

“I thought it was a terrible on-field decision and I thought it was unbelievably surprising that it wasn’t overturned,” said Wolves boss Gary O’Neil after the game.

On Saturday, Taylor refereed Preston North End’s 3-2 win over Coventry City – the first time he had refereed in the second tier since 2019 – and was involved in another controversial penalty decision.

The 45-year-old ruled that Kyle McFadzean had brought down Milutin Osmajic in the area, but replays showed the Coventry captain had made minimal contact.

Speaking after 2-2 draw with Newcastle, O’Neill said: “I feel like I waste my time speaking [to the officials] so I will stop speaking to them.

“Until they improve the level of what they produce, I have no time for them.”

Wolves’ sporting director Matt Hobbs was charged with misconduct by the Football Association for using “improper and/or abusive and/or insulting” language towards an official following the game.

Chelsea, who are 10th in the Premier League, host leaders City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday (16:30 GMT).