Veteran Premier League referee Anthony Taylor has announced his retirement as a professional at the age of 47 after managing over 831 total matches across domestic, European, and international competitions for two decades.

The Cheshire-born official confirmed the news following the end of the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, where his final assignment was to take charge of Spain's 1-0 win over Portugal in the round of 16.

Why did Anthony Taylor retire?

Addressing his decision to step down after 20 years in elite officiating, Anthony Taylor cited the intense, unrelenting pressure and constant public scrutiny surrounding top-flight football as the primary catalysts for his departure.

Speaking through official refereeing body Pro Ref following his retirement announcement, the Englishman reflected on the demands of officiating at the summit of the game.

Taylor acknowledged that while representing the sport on the world stage was an immense privilege, the perpetual spotlight and unrealistic expectations of perfection eventually made stepping aside the right call.

How does Anthony Taylor's record against the Big Six compare?

The narrative that some referees are very strict against certain clubs is real, and for Anthony Taylor, who served 20 years in the Premier League, there will always be clubs who feel more hard done by him compared to the others.

Here, we rank the teams Taylor was stricter to, using the metrics of cards awarded and some famous incidents across all competitions.

1. Chelsea: Death by a Thousand Yellows

Chelsea never topped Taylor's red-card list, but no side was booked more often under him; 135 yellows is the single highest tally the Cheshire-born referee handed to any club. 

59 games. 30 wins, 15 draws, 14 losses. 4 reds. 135 yellows

The definitive Chelsea grievance came in August 2022, when Tottenham's Cristian Romero yanked Marc Cucurella to the ground by his hair inside the box in the dying seconds, only for Harry Kane to equalise moments later with no penalty given.

VAR official Mike Dean later admitted he made an error by not advising Taylor to review the incident on the pitchside monitor, and Thomas Tuchel was so incensed he launched a public campaign to have Taylor barred from Chelsea fixtures, a petition that gathered over 100,000 signatures.

Tuchel's narrative proves true when you consider that Chelsea had the lowest win rate of the big six when Taylor was in charge, with just 50.8%, and given they also picked up the most yellow cards of any club he refereed.

2. Arsenal: The Reds He Couldn't Resist

No club saw more red from Taylor than Arsenal. Seven dismissals across two decades is a startling outlier, especially set against a fixture list where the Gunners won more than half their games under him.

59 games. 32 wins, 22 draws, 11 defeats. 7 red cards. 105 yellows

The most infamous flashpoint didn't even need a card: his award of a penalty to Brighton for William Saliba's aerial challenge on Joao Pedro left Mikel Arteta stunned, the Arsenal boss describing the decision as something he had never seen in his lifetime.

The spot-kick, converted by Pedro, cost Arsenal a share of the points in a title run-in and turned Taylor into pantomime villain number one at the Emirates for weeks.

Nevertheless, Arsenal, alongside Liverpool, jointly share the second-highest win rate when Taylor has officiated a game involving any of the big teams, although he almost frequently takes charge of games the Gunners would be expected to win.

3. Tottenham: Bottom of the Table, Top of the Grievance List

Tottenham Hotspur's losing record under Taylor, 19 defeats from just 51 games, sits alongside a habit of finding themselves on the wrong end of pivotal calls by the now-former Premier League referee.

51 games. 26 wins, 6 draws, 19 losses. 3 reds. 92 yellows.

The clearest example came at Chelsea in December 2019, when Son Heung-min avoided punishment on the pitch for a kick out at Antonio Rüdiger, only for VAR to intervene. 

Taylor did not spot Son in the moment, but a VAR check ruled him guilty of violent conduct and produced a red card, sparking a Tottenham appeal and a furious response from Jose Mourinho, who accused officials of killing the game.

Their 19 defeats are the most of any Big Six club against him, dragging the win rate down to 51% despite a reasonable number of wins. Nevertheless, only Chelsea had a worse win rate under his watch.

4. Liverpool: Volume Over Venom

Liverpool played Taylor more than any other Big Six side, and the raw yellow-card number reflects that volume as much as any bias. Although he showed the Reds the second most yellow cards, 118 of them have come in the Premier League, the most he brandished to any team in the competition.

72 games. 39 wins, 22 draws, 11 defeats. 3 reds. 121 yellows

A few decisions stung more than his call at West Ham in April 2024, when he waved away a goalkeeping error before halting Cody Gakpo's tap-in into an empty net. 

The decision left broadcasters baffled in real time, with pundits suggesting Taylor had effectively played advantage before pulling it back once West Ham's goalkeeper retained possession, a technically defensible but painfully unsatisfying moment for Liverpool's title challenge.

The most games played of any club under Anthony Taylor, and the highest number of draws, Liverpool ground out points as often as they won them, and shared the joint second-most win rate with 54.2%.

5. Manchester City: Fewest Cards, Biggest Flashpoints

Manchester City received the fewest yellow cards of the Big Six under Taylor, but against no team did he award more straight reds — a pattern shared only with Newcastle. No City player was ever sent off for a second yellow by him.

52 games. 28 wins, 11 draws, 13 defeats. 4 reds. 72 yellows.

His most contentious City moment, though, involved no card at all, but for chalking off Phil Foden's goal against Liverpool in 2022 after a coming-together between Erling Haaland and Fabinho.

Pep Guardiola couldn't hide his frustration, quipping that Taylor had waved play on for a string of fouls all game before suddenly finding one the moment City scored. It was Liverpool who had the last laugh, winning 1-0.

Solid without being dominant, City's 13 losses under Taylor are a surprisingly high number for a side that's spent most of this era winning titles, yet a 53.8% win rate places them fourth best under his charge.

6. Manchester United: Cards That Kept Coming

United's card count, third-highest of any club he officiated, tells its own story, but the sharpest debate came from a red rather than a yellow.

58 games. 34 wins, 7 draws, 17 losses. 3 reds. 116 yellows.

Casemiro's dismissal against Southampton in March 2023 split opinion after Taylor upgraded an initial booking to a straight red on review of what was considered a serious foul play on the Brazilian's tackle on Carlos Alcaraz.

Erik ten Hag fumed about inconsistency, though pundit Dermot Gallagher backed the call, insisting it was definitely a red card foul. It was Casemiro's second sending-off of the season, and United limped away with a goalless draw and a four-match ban for their midfielder.

Despite his card-happy reputation, Manchester United actually won more often under Taylor than any other Big Six club and boast the highest win rate of 58%.

The Real Conclusion

A closer look at these numbers and you realise every Big Six club has felt like Anthony Taylor's victim at some point, which really means none of them were.

Even though he was only human and could make mistakes, there was no vendetta, no favourite, no target on anyone's back. He was simply a man applying the laws of the game as he saw them, week after week, under a level of scrutiny few jobs demand. 

Fans disagreeing with that isn't evidence of bias; it's just human nature. Supporters never really cared as much about the rulebook as they do about their teams winning, but for a referee, you can only do this the legal way.