Anthony Taylor removed from refereeing duty as Premier League launch investigation

Anthony Taylor will not referee a Premier League match this weekend after he was targeted by online trolls following Saturday night's match between Bournemouth and Chelsea.

Taylor was the man in the middle on the south coast, where the Blues won 1-0 courtesy of a last-gasp goal from Christopher Nkunku. But it was Taylor in the spotlight after brandishing a record 14 yellow cards during the match, plus a further two to coaching staff.

He has since been the subject of vile abuse on social media with some users even issuing death threats against Taylor and his family.

And The Mail have now revealed that the Premier League will launch an investigation into said abuse, with Taylor being offered support by the PGMOL.

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He has also been taken off refereeing duty for this weekend's round of Premier League fixtures and will instead serve as a fourth official in Southampton's match against Ipswich on Saturday and again the following day when Brighton and Nottingham Forest meet.

Taylor called for fans to show "more empathy" towards match officials after he was targeted by angry Roma fans following their Europa League final defeat in 2023.

Taylor was attacked by Roma fans while with his family in Budapest airport after the match, which was won on penalties by Sevilla.

Speaking about the incident afterwards on The High Performance podcast, Taylor was asked what he would like to see change and responded: “Just more understanding and more empathy. So again, yes mistakes are made and we're far from perfect. Far from perfect. But there's many other facets that contribute to the result of a football match.

“And so maybe reflect. Before you start trying to blame an individual, maybe try and consider. Very difficult I appreciate objectively after a team's loss. Consider the things that go into what's been decided and try to understand why something has been done.”

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