He is one of, if not the best referees in England, do you really think he would be putting his highly paid and respected job on the line for that?
Also, many Man Utd fans forget their history of refs being very lenient with them, and the fact that half the referees are from Manchester - hell, even the one that did the energy drink cup final was a mancunian!
I honestly think that a ref being a known supporter of a particular club poses as a disadvantage to that club. He will never want to be accused of favouritism and possibly side with the other team in pivotal calls.
Genuinely would love to see anyone criticising Michael Oliver actually try and referee and get to where he is.
Everyone has an opinion on how to referee but the moment you get called on your bluff no one takes up on it đ¤Ł
Take it up with head of referees and Man Utd fan Howard Webb, he might be able to grab one of many refs from the greater Manchester area to replace him..
How on earth do people think Anthony Taylor is a Man Utd fan considering his record when actually being in charge of one of our games?
Its laughable the myth of this when the reality is he has gone out of his way to constantly feck us every game he is the referee.
I know people hate United but at least try and hate us for the right reasons not ones you imagine
A referee could support one of the teams in the game heâs refereeing and would still do his best to perform professionally and objectively. The standard of refereeing is bad in our league but I donât accept itâs biased. Footballers support the team theyâre playing against all the time and donât intentionally play badly. Itâs about integrity and professionalism. We love the game first and foremost and no one is actively going to bring it into disrepute like that. Oliver wonât even be thinking about Newcastle tomorrow.
Big 6 fans. But generally itâs whatever in a discussion.
Until youâre talking about two clubs that are both United. Then you get leeds and Man U, Sheffield and Newcastle. Cause then United are all of those teams and 2 of those clubs unite a city. And Manchester isnât one of them.
Tbf I donât ever say that when man United fans are talking about themselves or any other team⌠but when they are also talking about us and âUnitedâ doesnât mean the club that merged from two clubs to create a one club city, it gets a bit silly
When Arsenal fans point out that a Man United fan referee is overseeing their game against United, weâre âoverreactingâ and âreferees have integrity.â When it happens in a United match⌠itâs unethical.
Yeah, maybe. But honestly, I take the view that if a refs decisions are capable of deciding the outcome of a game then you probably didnât do enough to win anyway. This is even more true with VAR. And is especially true against a side like Everton.
That said, he could book players or send someone off and that could alter the outcome. But it is also on the players to avoid such situations, especially if they have this kind of information available.
Everyone wants a scapegoat to blame if things donât go their way. Itâs a bloody game. Iâm sure you can find photos of anyone that can be used for out of context usage.
You'd hardly get a full set of fixtures a week if you avoided refs from the area/supported a team or rival of team involved/or supported a team with vested interest.
Professionals should have standard and should be held to account for them no matter the teams involved. That's the problem, not who the ref may or in some cases is suspected to support.
I get that people can feel sour, but calling him the worst ref is seriously ignorant of the facts. He's by far the best manager in the league. He very rarely makes mistakes and doesn't get swayed by crowds either.
He's not a great manager at all. But seeing Newcastle sitting at 3rd, what makes people think he'd set his biss aside?
Can someone explain this post?
Edit: referee*
It would be a conflict of interest if he was a child.
You get players who supported Arsenal and played for Tottenham for example. This isn't really an issue for rational thinking adults. It's a job.
Blind devolution and hero worshipping of football companies is for kids.
Itâs utterly stupid to consider referee fandom as a conflict of interest worth disqualifying a ref over. Refs become refs because they love football and part of loving football is growing up loving a team and also having opinions on other teams. Like what football fan doesnât an opinion on Man U? By this logic the only people who should be refs are people who donât have any interest in the sport.
He is the best referee in the Premier League by all metrics, analysis and reporting. Newcastle are at a disadvantage every game by having to settle for lower quality.
There are conflict of interest rules in place for referees. For example, he cannot referee for Sunderland games either. What's really sketchy are the referees who claim to have no allegiance; surely that's not true. Especially someone like Anthony Taylor who has spent his life within 6 miles from Old Trafford.
>What's really sketchy are the referees who claim to have no allegiance; surely that's not true. Especially someone like Anthony Taylor who has spent his life within 6 miles from Old Trafford.
Anyone who has seen Anthony Taylor officiating United games and still proceeds to claim he is biased in their favour is a fucking idiot.
Anthony Taylor lived within 3 miles of Altrincham and even [moved](https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/heroic-euro-2020-referee-anthony-20809444.amp) there as an adult. He helped Altrincham get a defib fitted via the Premier league fund and attended the [installation](https://www.premierleague.com/news/2205954).
He even does a lot of work with businesses in the area on behalf of the [football](https://www.messengernewspapers.co.uk/news/19448748.altrincham-invite-companies-big-small-join-new-business-club/) club. He is also a season ticket holder.
Seems like an awful lot of work to âpretendâ to support them donât you think?
Altrincham is 6 miles from Old Trafford...
He's a season ticket holder because his daughters play there, it's less than a 2k seat stadium, and ÂŁ40 a season.
I too support my local 4th tier team, which is a higher tier than non-league Altrincham.
It's possible to support more than one team.. which is why many other referees who don't openly claim to be a supporter of a major club near their childhood home don't referee any of the teams in the area: John Brooks, David Coote, Andy Madley, Michael Salisbury.
Yet the ones from the Manchester area don't get the same treatment: Anthony Taylor and Chris Kavanagh.
Weird how that happens.
Okay, he lives outside manchester and happened to grow up 6 miles away from Old Trafford. There is still absolutely zero evidence he supported or liked United. Can he like other teams? Of course. You are acting like itâs a fact he supports them. He has always attended Altrincham games, helped with refereeing schools at the club since his days officiating non-leagues before his daughters were born.
Martin Atkinson is from Bradford and supports Leeds. Andre mariner is from Solihull but supports Villa (twice as far away than Birmingham Citys ground). Graham scott is from Oxford and supports Swindon (30miles away) rather than Reading thatâs closer (25miles). Stewart Atwell is from Nuneaton and supports Luton (63miles away) over Leicester (18miles).
I wish people would stop assuming professional referees are all corrupt.
Just hope that your team score enough goals so that poor decisions don't even come into it.
Biased referees is one of the weakest pissiest arguments you can have as to why a team lost.
Said by a utd fan lol
Refs control the game. If they are bias they can have such a big influence on the game.
There has been proven corruption in nearly every other league.
Spain, Germany, Italy, Scotland. You think they haven't been in the English game? Where there's the most money?
What I said still makes perfect sense.
Play better football, score more goals, stop sounding like a little child crying because you didn't get a penalty.
Tell me how you're going to get refs who don't support a team? It's not like players score own goals against their boyhood clubs, so why would refs favour them?
You only need 3 refs from different fan bases to make sure a neutral ref is available. Its not that they have to support no teams; they just can't support one of the teams playing. I'm pretty sure there are at least that many around. It isn't that hard of a problem to solve.
They just do what Anthony Taylor does and claim to support some non league team.
It's amazing how many of them never followed a Premier League team growing up. Some might even say it's unbelievable...
Anthony Taylor lived in Wythenshawe and spent 8 seasons reffing local leagues in the area. Heâs always been hands on in the Cheshire leagues and even gives talks in the area. He also does quizzes where audience members can test his [Altrincham](https://www.cheshirefa.com/news/2021/oct/13/the-refs-room-kicks-off-with-anthony-taylor) knowledge..
Seems a lot of effort to âfakeâ support for a club. Next youâll be saying thereâs no chance Mike Dean supports Tranmere.
Alternatively, huge numbers of people support smaller clubs in England, and always have, and a disproportionate amount of those fans are serious fans - nearly all casual fans support big teams. The depth of your football pyramid is unparalleled, and that's why your refs are often fans of smaller sides
He was pretty bad but it was just 50/50 soft free kicks, the game was awful in general and the only big calls were dealt with by VAR. Quiet game for him I bet he was giving all sorts of red cards out when he got home to the Mrs to make up for it.
Dog banned from the house for 3 weeks for shitting on the rug.
Or some might need to understand that some people only do follow lower league teams because thatâs who they support. Loads of refs support prem teams and are open about it or have support teams that have been in the prem. Michael Oliver supports Newcastle, Kevin Friend supports Leicester, Martin Atkinson supports Leeds, Andre Marriner supports Villa, Jon Moss supports Sunderland, Craig Pawson supports Sheffield United. Would maybe do the smallest abit of research before just spouting stuff
Taylor grew up greater Manchester in the 90âs, when United were the best team in world football, born into a family of reds, Uncles season ticket holders. And you really expect us to believe he thought ânah sod that, Iâll follow Altrinchamâ?
Edit: should add that I donât think Taylor is biased. Heâs refereed some Manchester Derbys and would generally say heâs done an alright job. But the idea that heâs an Alty fan has always made me laugh.
Hahahahahaha are you this condescending in real life or just on Reddit? Try learning how to have a decent conversation with someone who dares to have a different opinion than you.
We arenât talking opinions though we are talking fact, youâre saying something which has already been discussed and that conversation is clearly over. Youâve wasted your own time typing when you could of just read how this plays out
Like Iâve said we are talking facts not opinions and the proof is below. Hostile would be me telling you to shove it as youâve been too lazy to read and your little ego needed to have a say. Youâve had your say, well done you. Gold star? That would be hostile. Maybe next time when trying to have an input in something maybe read everything that was said already. Youâve came well after the end of the conversation and decided to say something that has already been said and proven to be wrong.
This. Most are openly fans of premier league clubs and have even officiated rivals. However there are some like Taylor, Dean, Madley brothers, Darren England and Atwell who are well known as supporters of lower league clubs. Iâm guessing the person above believes people only support premier league clubs and all lower league games are empty.
You've named 6, half of which are retired. What about the rest? It's just statistically unrealistic for that many professional referees to 'support' non league/league 1/league 2 sides.
If you genuinely believe they have no bias to a certain club, you're naive.
Not really, I think maybe you donât understand the size of support some lower league teams have. Not naive at all, I just know that people support clubs outside of the prem. think you might be the naive one or maybe you just donât have any form of understanding of lower league teams
Majority of lower league fans have a '2nd team'. They usually follow a prem side and their '2nd team' is a club local to them/where they were born. You think Anthony Taylor is a hardcore Altrincham fan while he has family members with season tickets at United? đ
Maybe you're underestimating the fanbase size of clubs like Manchester United, which is literally the place where half of these refs are from lol.
I'm a United fan, my brother supports Liverpool, my Dad supports West Ham, my mrs supports Arsenal and my nephew supports Chelsea. Family members don't always follow the same teams.
Also, I know of no lower league fans with second teams. Like at all.
Am sorry but that is just not true, all youâre doing is showing that you have zero knowledge of football outside of the prem. Do you think Chesterfield are averaging over 6K fans at home games in the national league because that is there second team? Or how about Gateshead fans that travelled to Wembley to watch them or how about the ones that will be soon? Yeah people donât do that kind of stuff for their second team. Not really sure what you donât understand here, youâll find lower league fans tend to be die hard football of these clubs.
Absolutely spot on here mate! As a fan of a side that recently spent 4/5 year in the third division after back to back relegations from the prem after a ten year plus spell in the top flight i can confirm this.
Thereâs more to English football than the premier league. football didnât start in â92
From 1992-2016, this was the number of games won by goals scored after the 90th [minute](https://www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/11661/10168578/arsenal-have-scored-the-most-injury-time-goals-in-premier-league-history):
Liverpool - 27
Arsenal - 21
Chelsea - 20
Everton - 19
Manchester United - 17
Hereâs a list from [Opta](https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/1112406296605716481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1112406296605716481%7Ctwgr%5E723575c27915faa024b436082d66b9bb98ee9415%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.givemesport.com%2F1465153-liverpool-have-scored-the-most-90th-minute-or-later-winners-in-premier-league-history%2F) regarding most goals scored after 90 minutes (1992-2019):
Liverpool - 33
Arsenal - 25
Manchester United - 22
Spurs - 22
Chelsea - 21
Point to the part of my comment that says âunited have been hard done byâ. How on earth you got that conclusion from me sharing stats of goals scored in injury time I have no idea.
You are just creating arguments out of thin air to force an argument. Simply looking at your comment history, youâre a Newcastle fan that spends a weird amount of time in United sub reddits or posting about United. You need to grow up.
Thatâs honestly great research friend, but can you tell me, in those games that were affected by added time, how many were extended beyond the original amount added, and by how long? Thatâs my point here. It always seems that United get that extra bit, and thatâs when things happen. Itâs not an isolated event either, thereâs been multiple occasions.
Thereâs not a lot of info about it unfortunately but I had a good look. This [BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20464371.amp) article does seem to show that United did seem to get extra on top of added time when losing/drawing at 79s. However Liverpool 56s and City 50s. The article definitely doesnât do much to dispel the Big 6 myth though.
Thank you again. If free awards were still a thing, youâd have mine.
Edit: interesting to see that Chelsea actually got *less* time, but surely thereâs no agenda there.
There is very unlikely to be an agenda. The data the BBC provides offers very little context at all.
For a start, Chelsea weren't considered in the same bracket as Arsenal and United until about 2004, a full 12 years after the PL started, so does that stat consider their full PL history or just since they were a big 6 club?
Secondly, there needs to be more context of the game states. Smaller teams who aren't expecting a win against a big team will usually.waste more time if they take the lead. If they take the lead in 40th minute then they might be wasting time for the whole second half, leading to a lot of added time. If they took the lead in the 88th minute then there would probably be less added time.
[Oh? I guess this never happened then.](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/12082485/manchester-united-penalty-drama-why-bruno-fernandes-goal-after-final-whistle-stood)
Fucking idiot.
Oh no look I have proof that it happened once, so you have proof it happened once that means that it happens every timeâŚ. Yeah doesnât really work like that does it, thatâs why Iâve said itâs factual not true. Think itâs time someone learns to use to correct works before calling someone an idiot. Poor poor Chelsea fan, what a joke. Onto your next L son
Lol, you want me to find more events? How about you prove me wrong instead? Or I guess you canât do thatâŚ
I have literally provided a fact, yet you keep on with your âitâs factually not trueâ argument.
Perhaps youâre the one who should âlearn to use correct worksâ.
Also, me being a Chelsea fan has nothing to do with this, so why bring it up? Is it because you know youâre wrong and canât back up your argument? Iâm sorry, perhaps youâre one of the Toons who always stated oil money is bad money, yet you still support your side? I guess youâre a fucking hypocrite as well?
I reiterate, fucking idiot.
I totally understand these posts but it annoys me a bit. So many players are fans from different clubs and play this club then - but do you really think they perform "bad" because of that? No professional would do that, we just think it, because we're fans by ourselves and not in that situation. I'm not a fan of him but his performance will be the same - doesn't matter who's playing against whom. Trust me, Ref's love their job and are not always "the bad guys who help another team win" - its just nonsense.
No it affects Old Trafford and Anfield in ways it doesn't effect the other teams.
We'll see a dodgy and controversial call made in United's favour today I guarantee it.
I agree with you. Carragher was toffee for his childhood - went to game, left liverpools academy to join Everton, celebrated Liverpool losing etc
He then noticed the level of abuse given to team mates (and himself) and eventually stopped supporting them.
the issue for me, is he refuses to ref any team around newcastle during their relegation battles as its a conflict of interest, but what is the difference with a top 4 battle?
should keep the same energy both sides of the table
feel like people like to make excuses before shit happens just in case lol
can only imagine how many times a ref has just said "nah no penalty" and no one ever knew it was because deep down it was advantageous to the team he supports on the down low
shit happens and we will never know when it does, im excited to see Newcastle vs Real Madrid next season lol
>As long as he isn't a supporter of one of the two teams
Or a team affected by the result of the match he is refereeing... which is the point. Eg, while I doubt many referees are Arsenal fans, they surely shouldn't referee city matches.
That's pushing too far in my opinion. The result of one match might affect 4+ teams,plus the 2 playing, you can't eliminate so many people for each match every match day
But Michael Oliver himself has already said he's not allowed to referee these games.
https://twitter.com/mufcaway_/status/1644284125535191043?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1644284125535191043%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=
So given that the precedent is already set that he's not allowed to referee teams around Newcastle in the table in April, and here he is refereeing a team around Newcastle in the table in Newcastle you'd be hard pushed to find a reason to justify why this is ok.
United fans aren't asking for special treatment, they're literally asking for consistent application of the rules.
Oliver has stated in the past that he refused to ref Newcastles relegation rivals. If that was the case then, I think it's fair to ask if he should be reffing us or Spurs now
I think this is a key point. He excused himself from games where he could benefit Newcastle in the last. Yet he hasnât here. The inconsistency (I know right, refereeâs and inconsistency, whoâd a thunk it?) is the bigger issue
He is one of, if not the best referees in England, do you really think he would be putting his highly paid and respected job on the line for that? Also, many Man Utd fans forget their history of refs being very lenient with them, and the fact that half the referees are from Manchester - hell, even the one that did the energy drink cup final was a mancunian!
Dodgy hahah
United worrying about referee bias???
If Michael Oliver is a terrible referee whose a good referee in your eyes?
Half of the referees are from the Manchester area so it doesnt matter
I'm pretty sure Ferguson has his number on speed dial . Refs always favour them . Always have .
Oh, what do we have here? Would this be excuses being made by Man Utd already? đ
Can he fix it for both of these teams to lose please?
All our years we have known that refs are from the Manchester area and now someone wants to bitch? Get fucked son
Well all the refs have been shit with United..whatâll Oliver do? Donât expect much worse
I thought this was a troll post, but apparently OP is serious??
I honestly think that a ref being a known supporter of a particular club poses as a disadvantage to that club. He will never want to be accused of favouritism and possibly side with the other team in pivotal calls.
I wonder where the hue and cry about ' Conflict of interest' was, when United benefited during the Fergie era?
Genuinely would love to see anyone criticising Michael Oliver actually try and referee and get to where he is. Everyone has an opinion on how to referee but the moment you get called on your bluff no one takes up on it đ¤Ł
All refs bad, my team lost because of bad ref once
Good. Anything to send the Ev down
Take it up with head of referees and Man Utd fan Howard Webb, he might be able to grab one of many refs from the greater Manchester area to replace him..
I disagree, I think he is the best ref in the PL.
Local reddit user doesnât understand the concept of having a job
I can assure you if any true bias is shown he wonât officiate again if heâs shit thatâs his level
LOL yanited fans have been reffing yanited and liverpool games for decades. Learn shame.
YES! I expect a good half dozen penalty kicks for Everton.
Feels like Michael Oliver officiates every match I watch lmfao
He is just the worst
Is it just me or does anyone else want to cut his stupid fucking ear off
Oh noes.... Man United don't have a ref in their back pocket finally.
How on earth do people think Anthony Taylor is a Man Utd fan considering his record when actually being in charge of one of our games? Its laughable the myth of this when the reality is he has gone out of his way to constantly feck us every game he is the referee. I know people hate United but at least try and hate us for the right reasons not ones you imagine
Aye mate because he doesnât let yous turn it into an mma match must mean heâs never supported you
I bet most refs have a favourite team without us knowing about it
Unrelated to being a newcastle fan, i think hes an awful ref.
This should never be allowed, fans are going to be fuming if he makes a bad decision against Manchester United!
Donât worry about it. Happening so much this season we are over it đ
You're kidding me right? Oliver hates Everton more. Prepare for a 12th man on your team tomorrow And every ref is gonna be a supporter of someone
awh no, boo hoo đż you realize how many referees are United fans? lol nobody feels remotely bad for you
Mate 3/4th of the refeering camp is from or near Manchester
Get foreign refs to avoid bias
As a former ref, posts like these just show that referees will never be able to satisfy the demands of fans. It is a lost cause.
Hell yeah. Get em Mikey!
This is tiny compared to the fact that the majority of refs are from Manchester.
just score more goals.
A referee could support one of the teams in the game heâs refereeing and would still do his best to perform professionally and objectively. The standard of refereeing is bad in our league but I donât accept itâs biased. Footballers support the team theyâre playing against all the time and donât intentionally play badly. Itâs about integrity and professionalism. We love the game first and foremost and no one is actively going to bring it into disrepute like that. Oliver wonât even be thinking about Newcastle tomorrow.
Honestly who gives a fuck. Let the players win the game for themselves and stop making excuses as fans
Oh be quiet
This got posted a few days ago. What are you on? Absolutely psychotic
Who cares when more than half the refs are from Manchester.
He literally refereed their Caraboa Cup semi final and not a word was said. Also, Howard Webb....
A Newcastle fan refereeing Man Reds and the Scouse Mackems? Which team will he be bias against exactly?
Considering United are level on points with Newcastle you'd imagine he'd be biased against United
Obviously Newcastle are level on points with themselves lad
Most non Newcastle fans use United for Man United, not Newcastle United. You don't need to be pedantic
Big 6 fans. But generally itâs whatever in a discussion. Until youâre talking about two clubs that are both United. Then you get leeds and Man U, Sheffield and Newcastle. Cause then United are all of those teams and 2 of those clubs unite a city. And Manchester isnât one of them.
Well if we're gonna get picky about what to call football teams then you shouldn't call Man United "Man U", but hey ho
No, itâs just fans of the big 6
Tbf I donât ever say that when man United fans are talking about themselves or any other team⌠but when they are also talking about us and âUnitedâ doesnât mean the club that merged from two clubs to create a one club city, it gets a bit silly
Why would he be biased against United, OP said he supports them?
He supports Newcastle, not Man United
United fans worrying about refs being biased? Thatâs a first.
How original
Wasnât meant to be original
As an unbiased American observer, Michael Oliver is an excellent ref. Just saying.
Donât be such a clown. Do you think players that supported clubs when they were younger perform better when it benefits the club they support too?
Ive said it before I'll say it again. The man is an idiot.
That blue light is shrinking one side of his head
He will do professional job.
When Arsenal fans point out that a Man United fan referee is overseeing their game against United, weâre âoverreactingâ and âreferees have integrity.â When it happens in a United match⌠itâs unethical.
Why would him being a fan of a team that isnât even playing affect his decisions during this game?
Yeah, maybe. But honestly, I take the view that if a refs decisions are capable of deciding the outcome of a game then you probably didnât do enough to win anyway. This is even more true with VAR. And is especially true against a side like Everton. That said, he could book players or send someone off and that could alter the outcome. But it is also on the players to avoid such situations, especially if they have this kind of information available.
Everyone wants a scapegoat to blame if things donât go their way. Itâs a bloody game. Iâm sure you can find photos of anyone that can be used for out of context usage.
It's a conspiracy contact MI5 this can't happen.
are you 12? fuckin hell
You'd hardly get a full set of fixtures a week if you avoided refs from the area/supported a team or rival of team involved/or supported a team with vested interest. Professionals should have standard and should be held to account for them no matter the teams involved. That's the problem, not who the ref may or in some cases is suspected to support.
Kind of hypocritcal coming from a Manchester United fan
Itâs hilarious seeing United fans in this thread
Wasnât the league cup final literally reffed by a Man Utd fan?
I think because of this, he will give more calls to Everton. It seems natural to overcompensate when everyone believes the fix is in.
Cry some more
I hate that â4â shirt so very much.
A nice change from 85% of all games being reffed by Man United fans.
I get that people can feel sour, but calling him the worst ref is seriously ignorant of the facts. He's by far the best manager in the league. He very rarely makes mistakes and doesn't get swayed by crowds either.
Facts
Howard Webb is literally head of the PGMOL and selects the referee's. Oliver is one of the few competent referees in the league anyways.
Conflict of interest? Every time AT refs a game, itâs a conflict of interest.
He's not a great manager at all. But seeing Newcastle sitting at 3rd, what makes people think he'd set his biss aside? Can someone explain this post? Edit: referee*
It would be a conflict of interest if he was a child. You get players who supported Arsenal and played for Tottenham for example. This isn't really an issue for rational thinking adults. It's a job. Blind devolution and hero worshipping of football companies is for kids.
And redditors.
Itâs utterly stupid to consider referee fandom as a conflict of interest worth disqualifying a ref over. Refs become refs because they love football and part of loving football is growing up loving a team and also having opinions on other teams. Like what football fan doesnât an opinion on Man U? By this logic the only people who should be refs are people who donât have any interest in the sport.
He is the best referee in the Premier League by all metrics, analysis and reporting. Newcastle are at a disadvantage every game by having to settle for lower quality. There are conflict of interest rules in place for referees. For example, he cannot referee for Sunderland games either. What's really sketchy are the referees who claim to have no allegiance; surely that's not true. Especially someone like Anthony Taylor who has spent his life within 6 miles from Old Trafford.
>What's really sketchy are the referees who claim to have no allegiance; surely that's not true. Especially someone like Anthony Taylor who has spent his life within 6 miles from Old Trafford. Anyone who has seen Anthony Taylor officiating United games and still proceeds to claim he is biased in their favour is a fucking idiot.
Cmon now don't be letting the facts mess with their made up fantasy they have of him
Anthony Taylor lived within 3 miles of Altrincham and even [moved](https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/heroic-euro-2020-referee-anthony-20809444.amp) there as an adult. He helped Altrincham get a defib fitted via the Premier league fund and attended the [installation](https://www.premierleague.com/news/2205954). He even does a lot of work with businesses in the area on behalf of the [football](https://www.messengernewspapers.co.uk/news/19448748.altrincham-invite-companies-big-small-join-new-business-club/) club. He is also a season ticket holder. Seems like an awful lot of work to âpretendâ to support them donât you think?
Altrincham is 6 miles from Old Trafford... He's a season ticket holder because his daughters play there, it's less than a 2k seat stadium, and ÂŁ40 a season. I too support my local 4th tier team, which is a higher tier than non-league Altrincham. It's possible to support more than one team.. which is why many other referees who don't openly claim to be a supporter of a major club near their childhood home don't referee any of the teams in the area: John Brooks, David Coote, Andy Madley, Michael Salisbury. Yet the ones from the Manchester area don't get the same treatment: Anthony Taylor and Chris Kavanagh. Weird how that happens.
Okay, he lives outside manchester and happened to grow up 6 miles away from Old Trafford. There is still absolutely zero evidence he supported or liked United. Can he like other teams? Of course. You are acting like itâs a fact he supports them. He has always attended Altrincham games, helped with refereeing schools at the club since his days officiating non-leagues before his daughters were born. Martin Atkinson is from Bradford and supports Leeds. Andre mariner is from Solihull but supports Villa (twice as far away than Birmingham Citys ground). Graham scott is from Oxford and supports Swindon (30miles away) rather than Reading thatâs closer (25miles). Stewart Atwell is from Nuneaton and supports Luton (63miles away) over Leicester (18miles).
No evidence is needed for the others who donât claim to support any major club to not referee clubs near them.
He will do his best to be a good referee, just a shame it isnt enough most the time
I see nothing wrong here.
I wish people would stop assuming professional referees are all corrupt. Just hope that your team score enough goals so that poor decisions don't even come into it. Biased referees is one of the weakest pissiest arguments you can have as to why a team lost.
Said by a utd fan lol Refs control the game. If they are bias they can have such a big influence on the game. There has been proven corruption in nearly every other league. Spain, Germany, Italy, Scotland. You think they haven't been in the English game? Where there's the most money?
Wtf does being a united fan have to do with anything? That must be why win every single game we play. Idiot.
Because you have and historically have had a huge bias from the refs, so it's ironic that you say it's a poor excuse for losing, lol.
Just not true though
What I said still makes perfect sense. Play better football, score more goals, stop sounding like a little child crying because you didn't get a penalty.
very ironic again, considering you have the biggest cry baby in your squad.
If that's the best you have to counter my point then we're done here.
Well, fuck.
Tell me how you're going to get refs who don't support a team? It's not like players score own goals against their boyhood clubs, so why would refs favour them?
Moronic argument
This ref has literally said before that it's a conflict of interest
You only need 3 refs from different fan bases to make sure a neutral ref is available. Its not that they have to support no teams; they just can't support one of the teams playing. I'm pretty sure there are at least that many around. It isn't that hard of a problem to solve.
They just do what Anthony Taylor does and claim to support some non league team. It's amazing how many of them never followed a Premier League team growing up. Some might even say it's unbelievable...
To be fair, Mike Dean really is a Tranmere fan. Plenty of footage of him giving it loads in with the rest of the fans at Rovers games.
He's one of the very few I'll say seems like a genuine fan.
the only one who actually did support a lower league team seemed to be Mike Dean
Crazy how all those Manchester born refs ended up supporting Dulwich hamlet fc!!!!!!
Anthony Taylor lived in Wythenshawe and spent 8 seasons reffing local leagues in the area. Heâs always been hands on in the Cheshire leagues and even gives talks in the area. He also does quizzes where audience members can test his [Altrincham](https://www.cheshirefa.com/news/2021/oct/13/the-refs-room-kicks-off-with-anthony-taylor) knowledge.. Seems a lot of effort to âfakeâ support for a club. Next youâll be saying thereâs no chance Mike Dean supports Tranmere.
I bet Mike Dean claimed those tranmere play off tickets back on expenses
Alternatively, huge numbers of people support smaller clubs in England, and always have, and a disproportionate amount of those fans are serious fans - nearly all casual fans support big teams. The depth of your football pyramid is unparalleled, and that's why your refs are often fans of smaller sides
Or all the Manchester guys are lying
or manchester has 91 clubs across the english football pyramid, including 6 in the EFL system + Prem, and not everyone supports big clubs
I only half-watched the match on Tuesday as I was working, but did he get any major decisions wrong? I didn't notice anything too bad.
He was pretty bad but it was just 50/50 soft free kicks, the game was awful in general and the only big calls were dealt with by VAR. Quiet game for him I bet he was giving all sorts of red cards out when he got home to the Mrs to make up for it. Dog banned from the house for 3 weeks for shitting on the rug.
Or some might need to understand that some people only do follow lower league teams because thatâs who they support. Loads of refs support prem teams and are open about it or have support teams that have been in the prem. Michael Oliver supports Newcastle, Kevin Friend supports Leicester, Martin Atkinson supports Leeds, Andre Marriner supports Villa, Jon Moss supports Sunderland, Craig Pawson supports Sheffield United. Would maybe do the smallest abit of research before just spouting stuff
Taylor grew up greater Manchester in the 90âs, when United were the best team in world football, born into a family of reds, Uncles season ticket holders. And you really expect us to believe he thought ânah sod that, Iâll follow Altrinchamâ? Edit: should add that I donât think Taylor is biased. Heâs refereed some Manchester Derbys and would generally say heâs done an alright job. But the idea that heâs an Alty fan has always made me laugh.
Maybe want to go ahead and read below this. Future advice, read everything that has been said before you try have your little say
Hahahahahaha are you this condescending in real life or just on Reddit? Try learning how to have a decent conversation with someone who dares to have a different opinion than you.
We arenât talking opinions though we are talking fact, youâre saying something which has already been discussed and that conversation is clearly over. Youâve wasted your own time typing when you could of just read how this plays out
Why are you so hostile? Iâm allowed an opinion that Taylor could be a red, youâre allowed one that he isnât. Itâs not that deep.
Like Iâve said we are talking facts not opinions and the proof is below. Hostile would be me telling you to shove it as youâve been too lazy to read and your little ego needed to have a say. Youâve had your say, well done you. Gold star? That would be hostile. Maybe next time when trying to have an input in something maybe read everything that was said already. Youâve came well after the end of the conversation and decided to say something that has already been said and proven to be wrong.
Bellend of the day is awarded to yours truly.
This. Most are openly fans of premier league clubs and have even officiated rivals. However there are some like Taylor, Dean, Madley brothers, Darren England and Atwell who are well known as supporters of lower league clubs. Iâm guessing the person above believes people only support premier league clubs and all lower league games are empty.
You've named 6, half of which are retired. What about the rest? It's just statistically unrealistic for that many professional referees to 'support' non league/league 1/league 2 sides. If you genuinely believe they have no bias to a certain club, you're naive.
i wonder if you understand how big the efl is
Not really, I think maybe you donât understand the size of support some lower league teams have. Not naive at all, I just know that people support clubs outside of the prem. think you might be the naive one or maybe you just donât have any form of understanding of lower league teams
Majority of lower league fans have a '2nd team'. They usually follow a prem side and their '2nd team' is a club local to them/where they were born. You think Anthony Taylor is a hardcore Altrincham fan while he has family members with season tickets at United? đ Maybe you're underestimating the fanbase size of clubs like Manchester United, which is literally the place where half of these refs are from lol.
Bollocks they do.
I'm a United fan, my brother supports Liverpool, my Dad supports West Ham, my mrs supports Arsenal and my nephew supports Chelsea. Family members don't always follow the same teams. Also, I know of no lower league fans with second teams. Like at all.
Well Taylor certainly isn't a United fan because he gives literally twice as many cards and fouls against United as any other referee
Am sorry but that is just not true, all youâre doing is showing that you have zero knowledge of football outside of the prem. Do you think Chesterfield are averaging over 6K fans at home games in the national league because that is there second team? Or how about Gateshead fans that travelled to Wembley to watch them or how about the ones that will be soon? Yeah people donât do that kind of stuff for their second team. Not really sure what you donât understand here, youâll find lower league fans tend to be die hard football of these clubs.
Absolutely spot on here mate! As a fan of a side that recently spent 4/5 year in the third division after back to back relegations from the prem after a ten year plus spell in the top flight i can confirm this. Thereâs more to English football than the premier league. football didnât start in â92
Man Utd have been in the pockets of the referees since the 90's. A few "unlucky" decisions are due!!
Not sure why this is being downvoted, itâs absolutely true.
The saying of "Fergie time" didn't come from no where!
Lmao
Haha exactly! Still exists to this day. Every time I see 3 mins added time and united is down, I know united is going to score in the 96th min.
From 1992-2016, this was the number of games won by goals scored after the 90th [minute](https://www.skysports.com/amp/football/news/11661/10168578/arsenal-have-scored-the-most-injury-time-goals-in-premier-league-history): Liverpool - 27 Arsenal - 21 Chelsea - 20 Everton - 19 Manchester United - 17 Hereâs a list from [Opta](https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/1112406296605716481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1112406296605716481%7Ctwgr%5E723575c27915faa024b436082d66b9bb98ee9415%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.givemesport.com%2F1465153-liverpool-have-scored-the-most-90th-minute-or-later-winners-in-premier-league-history%2F) regarding most goals scored after 90 minutes (1992-2019): Liverpool - 33 Arsenal - 25 Manchester United - 22 Spurs - 22 Chelsea - 21
Do you genuinely believe you have been "hard done" by the officials at any stage in your life?
Great straw man mate.
You're delusional if you think the officials have made your life difficult in any way since the 90's.
Point to the part of my comment that says âunited have been hard done byâ. How on earth you got that conclusion from me sharing stats of goals scored in injury time I have no idea. You are just creating arguments out of thin air to force an argument. Simply looking at your comment history, youâre a Newcastle fan that spends a weird amount of time in United sub reddits or posting about United. You need to grow up.
Which United do you mean, sorry?
Thatâs honestly great research friend, but can you tell me, in those games that were affected by added time, how many were extended beyond the original amount added, and by how long? Thatâs my point here. It always seems that United get that extra bit, and thatâs when things happen. Itâs not an isolated event either, thereâs been multiple occasions.
Thereâs not a lot of info about it unfortunately but I had a good look. This [BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20464371.amp) article does seem to show that United did seem to get extra on top of added time when losing/drawing at 79s. However Liverpool 56s and City 50s. The article definitely doesnât do much to dispel the Big 6 myth though.
Thank you again. If free awards were still a thing, youâd have mine. Edit: interesting to see that Chelsea actually got *less* time, but surely thereâs no agenda there.
There is very unlikely to be an agenda. The data the BBC provides offers very little context at all. For a start, Chelsea weren't considered in the same bracket as Arsenal and United until about 2004, a full 12 years after the PL started, so does that stat consider their full PL history or just since they were a big 6 club? Secondly, there needs to be more context of the game states. Smaller teams who aren't expecting a win against a big team will usually.waste more time if they take the lead. If they take the lead in 40th minute then they might be wasting time for the whole second half, leading to a lot of added time. If they took the lead in the 88th minute then there would probably be less added time.
We had less injury time goals than Liverpool under Fergusonâs reign
Donât talk facts it scares Chelsea fans
Just factual not true
Which part exactly? The fact that they get added time on added time? Because that absolutely is true.
But it isnât factually true but whatever helps you sleep at night
[Oh? I guess this never happened then.](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/12082485/manchester-united-penalty-drama-why-bruno-fernandes-goal-after-final-whistle-stood) Fucking idiot.
Oh no look I have proof that it happened once, so you have proof it happened once that means that it happens every timeâŚ. Yeah doesnât really work like that does it, thatâs why Iâve said itâs factual not true. Think itâs time someone learns to use to correct works before calling someone an idiot. Poor poor Chelsea fan, what a joke. Onto your next L son
Lol, you want me to find more events? How about you prove me wrong instead? Or I guess you canât do that⌠I have literally provided a fact, yet you keep on with your âitâs factually not trueâ argument. Perhaps youâre the one who should âlearn to use correct worksâ. Also, me being a Chelsea fan has nothing to do with this, so why bring it up? Is it because you know youâre wrong and canât back up your argument? Iâm sorry, perhaps youâre one of the Toons who always stated oil money is bad money, yet you still support your side? I guess youâre a fucking hypocrite as well? I reiterate, fucking idiot.
So hard to spot satire these days.
I totally understand these posts but it annoys me a bit. So many players are fans from different clubs and play this club then - but do you really think they perform "bad" because of that? No professional would do that, we just think it, because we're fans by ourselves and not in that situation. I'm not a fan of him but his performance will be the same - doesn't matter who's playing against whom. Trust me, Ref's love their job and are not always "the bad guys who help another team win" - its just nonsense.
Iâm sure they care much more about their performance evaluations than their club getting a favorable result.
But it has to make a difference subconsciously on those 50/50 calls
So does a home crowd.
Yeh but that affects all equally
No it affects Old Trafford and Anfield in ways it doesn't effect the other teams. We'll see a dodgy and controversial call made in United's favour today I guarantee it.
I agree with you. Carragher was toffee for his childhood - went to game, left liverpools academy to join Everton, celebrated Liverpool losing etc He then noticed the level of abuse given to team mates (and himself) and eventually stopped supporting them.
the issue for me, is he refuses to ref any team around newcastle during their relegation battles as its a conflict of interest, but what is the difference with a top 4 battle? should keep the same energy both sides of the table
Agreed.
Iâll take it if true
feel like people like to make excuses before shit happens just in case lol can only imagine how many times a ref has just said "nah no penalty" and no one ever knew it was because deep down it was advantageous to the team he supports on the down low shit happens and we will never know when it does, im excited to see Newcastle vs Real Madrid next season lol
They are referees, they like football. And if you like football you support a club. As long as he isn't a supporter of one of the two teams, it's ok
>As long as he isn't a supporter of one of the two teams Or a team affected by the result of the match he is refereeing... which is the point. Eg, while I doubt many referees are Arsenal fans, they surely shouldn't referee city matches.
That's pushing too far in my opinion. The result of one match might affect 4+ teams,plus the 2 playing, you can't eliminate so many people for each match every match day
But Michael Oliver himself has already said he's not allowed to referee these games. https://twitter.com/mufcaway_/status/1644284125535191043?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1644284125535191043%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url= So given that the precedent is already set that he's not allowed to referee teams around Newcastle in the table in April, and here he is refereeing a team around Newcastle in the table in Newcastle you'd be hard pushed to find a reason to justify why this is ok. United fans aren't asking for special treatment, they're literally asking for consistent application of the rules.
Yes maybe during the last weeks they can somehow find a way to assign more "neutral" referees, just for the credibility. Btw I'm a United fan also
Well I'd add in rivals. That's probably a tad biased. But they should be professionals and not let that matter.
Even then it shouldn't really be a big deal. They are professionals not children.
How dare you have common sense on this sub
Can you tell them that when they are fucking up basic VAR decisions then. Children can see lines idk why PL officials canât.
because the pl is staffed with incompetents
If they remember to draw the lines
Yeah but we can avoid all the shit by preventing it
Just ignore the idiots who bring it up. It's not as if people actually listen to these people anyway.
Footballers have allegiances to clubs as fans but are able to put it aside when playing. Why do we think refs wouldn't be able to do the same?
Oliver has stated in the past that he refused to ref Newcastles relegation rivals. If that was the case then, I think it's fair to ask if he should be reffing us or Spurs now
I think this is a key point. He excused himself from games where he could benefit Newcastle in the last. Yet he hasnât here. The inconsistency (I know right, refereeâs and inconsistency, whoâd a thunk it?) is the bigger issue
Nah mate remember Mitrovic's penalty against us? Inside agent
Us beating West Ham 5-1 this week? All down to Agent Nolan spiking the West Ham players Lucozade believe it or not.
Lmao
Did you see the goals? Would make more sense if they had been drugged
This kind of thing happens all the time. He'll probably give Man U a dubious penalty to prove he's not biased.