Arsenal fans have raised concerns about referee Anthony Taylor’s decisions during their match against Liverpool, which ended in a 2-2 draw. While former Premier League referee Mike Dean acknowledges the fans’ complaints, he refutes any notion of a conspiracy against Arsenal. The match, held at the Emirates Stadium, saw Arsenal lead twice. Complaints were also raised about Luis Diaz’s actions, which went seemingly unpunished by Taylor.
Similarly, Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) expressed dissatisfaction with officiating in their matches, particularly feeling unfairly treated in terms of decision-making compared to their opponents. Ex-referee Jeff Winter also weighed in on the issue, emphasizing that no bias exists against clubs like Arsenal or Wolves from referees.
Mike Dean said, “Referee Taylor had a good game but some home fans would beg to differ. On a couple of occasions, Taylor failed to punish Luis Diaz for seemingly kicking the ball away.”
Jeff Winter said, “As a referee we used to meet each week after the games and review the big decisions. Wolves are another team that have suffered or in the eyes of the manager, they’ve suffered with decisions that have gone against them and then when they have had a similar one, they’ve not benefited from it. We’re not going to give that again next week,’ and it’s making a joke of the game. But no two incidents are the same. That isn’t what the law says and that isn’t what the interpretation has ever been. You’ve got to be in control of the ball and heading towards your opponent’s goal. First there was Declan Rice, but more recently Trossard who foolishly did it and correctly was sent off. But then this weekend, Luis Diaz does it against them and you can fully understand why everybody’s saying: ‘Well, hang on a minute, the refs have got it in for Arsenal or the refs have got it in for Wolves,’ that’s football.”
