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Anthony Taylor has confessed there have been occasions when he has contemplated walking away from refereeing due to relentless criticism and abuse.
The official, who took charge of Liverpool's defeat to Chelsea, has also disclosed that his family no longer attend high-profile fixtures following harassment from Roma supporters at an airport. Speaking to BBC Sport, Taylor pondered the "archaic" mentality that he believes pervades football.
Taylor has overseen the FA Cup final on two occasions, in 2017 and 2020, and has featured on FIFA's referees' panel for over ten years. After being chosen as one of six English officials for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the 46 year old was subsequently selected for the 2023 Europa League final between Sevilla and Roma in Budapest.
After a heated encounter at the Puskas Arena – with Sevilla ultimately defeating Roma, then under Jose Mourinho's stewardship, following a penalty shootout – Taylor, who brandished 13 yellow cards throughout the contest, was confronted by irate supporters at the airport whilst travelling home.
Though regarded as amongst the Premier League's top referees, Taylor feels he and fellow match officials have become convenient scapegoats, with condemnation surfacing once more after Chelsea's dramatic injury-time victory over Liverpool at Stamford Bridge last weekend.
When questioned whether he had ever contemplated abandoning refereeing, Taylor responded.
"There's certainly been moments – and I won't be alone in this – there's certainly been moments where you are thinking, 'Is it worth it?'," he said. "And certainly, moments where you're thinking, 'What's being said is completely unfair'."
Taylor went on to say: "We have this archaic psychological tactic of 'let's bombard the ref or bombard the fourth official with the hope of getting a decision out of it'."
Following the 2023 Europa League final, video footage surfaced showing an incident involving Taylor at Budapest Airport. A chair and drinks were hurled towards the English referee and his party as they navigated through a crowd of Roma supporters, before airport security guided them to safety.
Taylor disclosed that his family no longer attends major matches.
"That's for sure the worst situation I've dealt with in terms of abuse," he admitted. "Not only because I was travelling with family members at the time, but it also highlights the impact of people's behaviour on others.
"It makes you reflect back on whether you made a mistake travelling with your family in the first place." When asked if this means his family no longer attend high-profile games, Taylor confirmed: "Yeah very much so – they haven't been to one since."
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In an interview with The Times, Taylor also discussed the reaction to a decision in Liverpool's 2-1 loss at Chelsea, where manager Enzo Maresca received a second yellow card after sprinting down the touchline to celebrate Estevao's injury-time winner.
"I'm not particularly delighted at having to send him off for a second yellow card but people are choosing to ignore that, two years ago, every Premier League club signed up to the charter," he said, referring to the Premier League's Participant Behaviour Charter, which Maresca had violated.
During the same interview, Taylor also discussed the incident in Liverpool's 4-2 victory over Bournemouth on the opening night of the 2025-26 Premier League season when he was compelled to halt the match after Antoine Semenyo reported suffering racial abuse.
"We have clear guidance to follow but the most important thing is the alleged victim. Antoine had to be the focus of everything you do," said Taylor, who agreed to the interview because Friday is World Mental Health Day.
"The most important thing is the player feels he's been listened to and something's been done and I think at the end of the night, once we'd spoken to him and his manager and police, he left the stadium feeling it had been dealt with.
"The actions of the Liverpool security team were important too."
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