Anthony Taylor received 14 yellow cards in the nasty Europa League final. Photo: PA/Adam Davy
It was the week that the FA finally decided that the treatment of referees in the mass game had gone so far beyond what was acceptable that something needed to be done.
The Governing the body introduced deductions for insulting officials at all levels. It has been gratefully received by the judging community, who feel it is simply too much. Then on the touchline in Budapest at the Puskás Arena on Wednesday night in one of UEFA's showcase finals, we saw once again why referees at all levels of the game need the full power of football authorities.
José Mourinho and his staff didn't just give Anthony Taylor; his assistants Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn; and his fourth official Michael Oliver is a tough ride. Their complaints and grievances — their endless reproaches — became the history of the 2023 Europa League final. When that wasn't enough, Mourinho turned his fury on Taylor and his officials in the underground car park of the stadium itself.
The invective was caught on a mobile phone camera and scattered around the world on social networks. Later at the Budapest airport, Taylor and his family were «harassed and abused» by Roma fans, according to PGMOL, the body that manages the game's English officials. As all grassroots officials know, there is always a price to pay for insulting a high-ranking referee in a big match. Usually, it is on the fields of amateur games that the ripple effect negates the last remnants of respect for officials.
It may well be, but so far Taylor himself, one of the top two referees in English football, has proven himself in the end. Airport footage shows Roma fans threatening Taylor and his family, throwing drinks at him, and a poorly aimed chair.
The normalization of mistreatment of judges starts at the top. This is then felt throughout the game, all the way down to the lowest level. What makes this episode different is that it had an immediate effect — hours later, Taylor himself was suffering the consequences.
Mourinho and several of his staff received yellow cards during the game. On the touchline, Oliver, the FIFA referee who had a great World Cup final last year, faced a sea of accusations and objections. Not only Roma, but also Sevilla — and, in the end, it was not football at all, but a public game in which, it seemed, nothing was forbidden.
Only the players received 14 yellow cards, of which 8 were given to the Roma players. A record for the Europa League final, and yet, one could declare oneself to everyone. The referee was trying to control a game that seemed to be out of control.
José Mourinho is accused of using offensive language against referee Anthony Taylor
Usually in such situations, elite-level referees are tasked with managing the game. A euphemism meaning that the worst excesses of players and managers go largely unchecked. It was a game that, with the input of those on the sideline, was unmanageable.
In the quarter-finals of the same competition, Mourinho's assistant Salvatore Foti was sent off for grabbing a Feyenoord player. Mourinho himself has been sacked three times in Serie A this season, more than any other player. For Taylor and his officials, this should have been the finale of another great season, but in the end it must have felt more like a curse. Finals are not always easy to judge, and yet it was on a completely different level. Looking back at the season at Roma, this could hardly come as a surprise.
When it ends, officials are expected to head to relegation halls full of resentful fans to board commercial flights home. Not that UEFA ever expected the players or their well-known managers to put up with this.
This level of mistreatment of referees and assistants on the pitch has consequences. This time it was immediate and shocking. What will happen to the thousands of referees at the levels below Taylor, one can only guess.
Who is Anthony Taylor?
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