Gary O'Neil warns officials over refereeing Wolves after Anthony Taylor is latest to be dropped
Anthony Taylor becomes latest referee to drop down to EFL following mistake against Wolves; erroneous penalty was given against Hee-Chan Hwang in 2-2 draw against Newcastle last weekend; Wolves travel to winless Sheff Utd on Saturday
Friday 3 November 2023 18:25, UK
Gary O'Neil jokingly warned referees to be "careful" refereeing Wolves after Anthony Taylor became the latest official to be dropped for poor decisions made against them.
Taylor awarded Newcastle a contentious penalty against Hee-Chan Hwang in their 2-2 draw with Newcastle last weekend, and will now referee Preston's game against Coventry in the Championship on Saturday.
O'Neil said he had been told the Premier League's Independent Key Match Incidents Panel, which reviews major talking points and decisions after each game week, unanimously found the decision to award the penalty was incorrect, and also disagreed with the VAR's decision not to intervene.
- Premier League predictions - Sheff Utd to scrape a point?
- Watch free Premier League highlights
- Get Sky Sports | Download the Sky Sports App
Taylor becomes the third official this season, as referenced by O'Neil, to be stripped of their Premier League duties in the immediate aftermath of a poor decision against Wolves.
O'Neil said: "I saw the numbers in the review they do on Tuesday which was 5-0 in favour of a penalty not being given on-field, and 4-1 in favour of it not being overturned by VAR.
Trending
- Ref Watch LIVE! Saints disallowed goal, Arsenal penalties analysed
- Can Liverpool be caught? Neville assesses Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City hopes
- Transfer Centre LIVE! PSG in talks to sign Salah on a free
- 'I lost all respect' - Verstappen slams Russell after Qatar confrontation
- Hits and misses: Rashford transformed under Amorim
- Salah: Contract situation is in my head | Sturridge: Show him the money!
- Kompany gives Kane injury update: 'You can't replace him'
- Man Utd latest: Fernandes suffers injury scare during Everton win
- Liverpool one step closer to PL title with emphatic win over Man City
- Rashford and Zirkzee give Amorim perfect PL start at Old Trafford
"I think Anthony Taylor's doing the Championship game this weekend - that's three referees who've been relegated on the back of refereeing us, so you need to be careful when you referee Wolves because you could end up getting relegated the following week!
"That's Man Utd, Luton and Wolves now. I haven't received an apology and I don't want one. They're not going to help, but hopefully the level improves."
O'Neil, who called the decision "scandalous" in the immediate aftermath of the game last weekend, was questioned on how things can improve with the PGMOL under fire perhaps like never before this season. He said raising the level of officiating in the Premier League was the only solution.
The top flight's officiating body has already set up a monthly television show, fronted by chief Howard Webb and shown on Sky Sports, to explain the rationale and communication between referees and VAR officials surrounding big decisions.
The PGMOL also had to take the unprecedented step of releasing the audio surrounding Liverpool's mistakenly disallowed goal at Tottenham, when a mix-up between the VAR team and on-field officials led to the serious error.
O'Neil said: "I just feel a better level of refereeing is where I'm at with it. Too many mistakes. Communication's fine, they've always communicated fine with me. It's just the level, as we're all held to high levels in what we do. I am, the players are, refereeing the same.
"They say these things even out, but I don't see that happening. We've been on the bad end too many times. Hopefully things can start to improve for them as well, because I'm sure they're feeling under pressure at the moment.
"The spotlight's on them at the moment for all the mistakes that are being made, and whether VAR is helping or not. So let's hope things improve."
