If you asked any Chelsea fan who is their favourite referee, the answer would not be Anthony Taylor.
Down the years, Taylor has made decisions in games that Chelsea fans have not been happy with.
At one point, Blues supporters even decided to sign a petition for the 46-year-old to never referee one of their fixtures ever again. It has reached well over 150,000 signatures!
It is not just Chelsea fans Taylor has irked, though. Jose Mourinho and Cesc Fabregas were not too happy with him back in the 2014/15 season either.
Anthony Taylor’s controversial call in Chelsea’s draw with Southampton 10 years ago
Hunting down the Premier League title, Chelsea were desperate to beat Southampton at St Mary’s in December 2014.
However, they dropped points in that game, drawing 1-1 with the Saints. Had they been given a penalty, though, it could have been a very different scoreline. And for Mourinho, his side deserved just that during the match.
There was one moment where Fabregas was clearly taken out in the box by Southampton defender Matt Targett. But instead of handing Chelsea a spot-kick, Taylor booked Fabregas for simulation.
It came after Sam Allardyce had previously accused Branislav Ivanovic of diving, which resulted in Mourinho claiming that there was a “campaign” against his team and that it was starting to influence referees’ decisions.
“There is a campaign against Chelsea. I don’t know why there is this campaign and I do not care,” the Portuguese was quoted as saying by BBC Sport after the draw at St Mary’s.
“Everybody knows it was a penalty. The referee made a mistake, people make mistakes and he made a big mistake. He is a good referee and a good guy, he is young, he has years and years of football ahead of him but it is a big mistake.”
On Allardyce’s comments, Mourinho said: “After the game against West Ham, Sam is speaking about Branislav Ivanovic [diving], what is this? Then, you come here [Southampton] and you have a crucial decision and the referee makes the wrong decision. He made a mistake. He assumed it.
“Out of nothing, Allardyce starts speaking about Chelsea players diving, then another coach and another coach. The referee changes a penalty for a yellow card.”
The same year, Mourinho convinced Lionel Messi to join Chelsea, only for former Blues player Deco and the Argentine’s father to get in the way of a transfer.
What Cesc Fabregas said about Anthony Taylor
Unsurprisingly, Fabregas, who was the victim of what Mourinho would have described as an injustice, was also far from happy after the game.
“There was definitely contact, the referee didn’t have the best game of his life and I don’t think he will sleep that well tonight, he had an awful game,” the former Chelsea and Spain midfielder said.
Thankfully, dropping points at St Mary’s did not come back to haunt Fabregas and Co. They were still able to win the title, which was Fabregas’ first of two in a blue shirt.
Fabregas is now making an impact at Como and as a manager, he will hope to win a league title himself one day.
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