Premier League referee thinks VAR created a false expectation of perfection
Anthony Taylor speaks on behalf of referees who are scared of their own mistakes.
Referees are sometimes subject of extreme stress in football fields, and more often than not, they are also target of harassment, insults, and attacks from fans. Anthony Taylor, 46-year-old referee, said in an interview with BBC Sport that fans cannot expect perfection all the time for them, as it doesn't exist, and put the focus on the fear referees have.
"It is really important that we actually start to talk about people being fearful of failure or mistakes. We have to accept that if we don't create the right environment for people to thrive, then people will be fearful, and that will have a negative impact on individuals and performance in the long term", the official said, who has been working 15 years at Premier League.
In 2023, Taylor refereed the Europa League final between Roma and Sevilla. Jose Mourinho's Roma lost the final, and later the Portuguese coach confronted Taylor in the car park. He was also insulted by fans with his family at Budapest Airport. He can't understand how that's acceptable: "I'm sure those individuals wouldn't like somebody to turn around and say that to them or their own children", he said, saying that his family never travels with him to matches after that.
VAR brought in a false expectation of perfection
He also added that video assistant referee (VAR) created false expectations: "It brought this expectation of perfection that it would solve absolutely everybody's problems and it would be a utopia. In reality, those people were way off the mark. One week, people will say: 'We don't want VAR to be too forensic.' The next week they'll be going: 'How has VAR not intervened in this?'", Taylor said.
Do you think that VAR is beneficial to football?
