Referee Anthony Taylor Announces Immediate Retirement Citing Intense Pressure

Referee Anthony Taylor has announced his retirement with immediate effect, highlighting the impact of the "intense" pressure of the role.

Taylor, 47, enjoyed a 20-year career spanning 831 matches, with his final game being Spain's 1-0 win over Portugal in the World Cup last 16 on 6 July.

A prison officer before becoming a professional referee, he was first added to the Football League list at the start of the 2006-07 season.

Promotion to the Premier League followed in 2010, where he took charge of 432 top-flight matches and officiated every major domestic cup final.

In total, he officiated 668 matches in the professional game in England.

"Officiating at the elite level has been an immense privilege, but the pressure is intense and the scrutiny is constant," Taylor said.

"The time is now right to step aside and look forward to transitioning to the next chapter of my career."

The Wythenshawe-born referee, who had been on Fifa's list of officials for 14 years, was also selected for the 2022 World Cup, and the Euros in 2020 and 2024.

In total, he officiated 163 international matches.

Taylor was shortlisted to referee the 2022 World Cup final, but was discounted because of political tensions between England and finalists Argentina.

Howard Webb, chief refereeing officer at Pro Ref, said: "Anthony has been a fantastic servant to the game over many years, both domestically and on the international stage.

"He has been repeatedly trusted to officiate in the biggest games.

"We thank him for his immense contribution to the game and wish him every success in the next chapter of his career."

Taylor refereed the 2015 EFL Cup final, with Chelsea beating Tottenham Hotspur 2–0.

In 2020, he became the first referee since 1901 to take charge of two FA Cup finals when Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1.

Taylor previously took charge of the 2017 FA Cup final, also a 2-1 win for Arsenal against Chelsea.

He also refereed the Community Shield in 2015 and the 2018 Championship play-off final.

Taylor received praise for the way he handled the Euro 2020 game between Denmark and Finland, which had to be halted when Christian Eriksen collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest.

He has also been appointed to several high-profile Uefa matches, including the 2020 Super Cup final, with Bayern Munich beating Sevilla 2-1, the 2021 Nations League final, in which France beat Spain 2-1, and the 2023 Europa League final which saw Sevilla beat Roma on penalties.

Taylor faced a great deal of abuse after the Europa League final, but was firmly backed by Uefa referees' chief Roberto Rosetti.

Roma boss Jose Mourinho called Taylor a "disgrace" twice in a post-match news conference before confronting him in a car park - an incident the Portuguese was given a four-match ban for.

Taylor was then shouted at by angry fans as he walked though Budapest Airport with his family.

In October 2025, Taylor spoke to BBC Sport about the impact of that night and the events that followed.

"That's the worst situation I've dealt with in terms of abuse," Taylor said.

"Not only because I was travelling with family members at the time, but it also highlights the impact of people's behaviour on others. Even in a match like that, where there was actually no major mistakes in the game."

Taylor, who also took charge of games at the Fifa Club World Cup in 2022 and 2025, hinted in last October's interview that his career could be coming to an end.

"I'm 47 next week, so that's quite old for somebody to be operating at this level, running around after people a lot younger than you," Taylor said.

"It's much more of a challenge now to maintain the levels of fitness and to rest and recover."

His retirement creates a gap at the top of refereeing in the English game.

Refereeing body Pro Ref, formerly known as PGMO, has merged its officials into one group for the 2026-27 season.

The creation of the professional referee group, which will service the Premier League and Championship, is intended to give greater opportunities to up-and-coming officials, such as Farai Hallam and Tom Kirk.