'Eriksen saved by swift judgment, Bento sent off': Anthony Taylor retires after 831 matches... "It was under immense pressure"

*This content was translated by AI.

Anthony Taylor (47), a veteran referee of England's Premier League (EPL), has put an end to more than two decades of refereeing.

Reuters reported on the 22nd (Korean time) that "Taylor, after a glittering career spanning over 20 years and officiating 831 matches, has announced his retirement from elite refereeing."

As a result, Taylor's final match will be the Portugal-Spain round of 16 game at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

Taylor, an English national, is a well-known referee familiar to all EPL fans. He officiated 432 matches in England's top division over 16 seasons in the EPL.

He was assigned to numerous finals determining champions of various domestic competitions. Notable examples include the 2017 and 2020 FA Cup finals. In 2015, he handled the League Cup final and the Community Shield, and in 2018, he blew the whistle at the Championship promotion playoff final.

His international career is equally impressive. He was listed on the FIFA International Referees list for 14 years. He also participated in the 2022 Qatar World Cup and the 2026 North American World Cup. At the European Championship, he experienced Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, and also competed in the 2022 and 2025 FIFA Club World Cups.

Taylor also has a connection with Korea. During the 2022 Qatar World Cup group stage match against Ghana, he sent off former Portugal coach Paulo Bento for aggressively protesting after the final whistle.

Taylor was also praised for his swift judgment in crisis situations. In the Euro 2020 Denmark-Finland match, when Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen suddenly collapsed, Taylor immediately recognized the severity of the situation, stopped the game, and ordered medical staff to be deployed.

Reuters, introducing Taylor's career, also evaluated that "he is widely recognized as one of England's representative referees."

However, given the number of high-profile matches he officiated, he was not free from controversy over decisions. He faced significant criticism not only from players and coaches but also from fans on many occasions.

A representative case is the 2023 UEFA Europa League final between Sevilla (Spain) and AS Roma (Italy). After Sevilla defeated Roma in a penalty shootout to claim the title, Jose Mourinho, then manager of Roma and currently of Real Madrid (Spain), expressed strong dissatisfaction with Taylor's decisions. Mourinho was officially appointed as the head coach of Real Madrid in June 2026.

After the match, Mourinho waited for Taylor in the VIP parking lot at Budapest's Puskás Aréna and protested roughly for nearly a minute in both English and Italian. Subsequently, Mourinho received a four-match suspension from UEFA club competitions for using insulting language toward match officials. Taylor and his family also suffered greatly during their return journey, facing verbal abuse and threats from Roma fans.

Upon announcing his retirement, Taylor also opened up about the hardships he endured as an elite referee. He stated, "It was a tremendous honor to officiate at the elite level," but added, "However, the pressure is immense, and scrutiny never ceases."

He further added, "Now is the appropriate time to step down and move on to the next chapter of my career."

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*This content was translated by AI.