'Fear of making mistakes' - Why veteran referee Anthony Taylor made shock decision to QUIT English football

Taylor will not be involved in English football at the start of the upcoming season after ending his 20-year career as an official. The 47-year-old took charge of 668 matches in England, taking control of every domestic final alongside 163 international fixtures.

His final match on the pitch was Spain's 1-0 victory over Portugal in the World Cup round of 16 on July 6. Following that appearance, Taylor made the sudden decision to step away from officiating due to the relentless pressure, scrutiny, and external opinions surrounding the English game.

Taylor will now take on a completely different challenge as the director of elite refereeing for the Turkish Football Federation. He felt both mentally and physically ready to transition away from the field and share his vast experience.

Explaining his decision to BBC Sport, Taylor candidly admitted that intense scrutiny and fear of making mistakes inevitably take a toll on any official's mindset over time.

"Any referee will be lying to you if they said that pressure or that scrutiny did not bother them, because that's a natural human reaction," Taylor explained. "One of the challenges that referees face at every level is actually understanding the challenges that we face.

"Fear of making mistakes, external opinion, spectators, managers, parents, media, colleagues. All these things feed into creating self-doubt, lacking confidence, and then things can spiral out of control and you lose the ability to actually have any confidence in what you're doing on the field.

"The decision to retire is purely based on my body and my mind coming to its natural course in that current role - and it's ready to go on a new journey. I'm very privileged that people hold my experience and knowledge in such high regard that they think I can make such a positive impact."

The intense personal cost of high-level refereeing also heavily influenced Taylor's decision to walk away. The official was famously confronted by furious Roma supporters at Budapest Airport alongside his family following the 2023 Europa League final. Following that traumatic incident, Taylor's family stopped attending his matches due to the alarming levels of abuse he routinely received. Balancing family life with top-level officiating became increasingly difficult to sustain.

"Undoubtedly one of the things that you are considering are the serious sacrifices that both your family and your friends have made over the years for you to do what you do," he added.

"Family life takes a back seat, so, for sure, that was a big part of why I decided to step back. It was in combination with the scrutiny and the demands placed on referees at the very top level.

"And that doesn't necessarily mean that you're struggling to cope with those demands, but it comes to a point where it feels that your body and your mind needs to take a break from those kind of pressures."

Taylor was determined to call time on his refereeing career on his own terms rather than being forced out by declining physical standards or mounting pressure. Ending his on-pitch journey at the World Cup provided the ideal moment to transition into executive leadership.

He now moves on to his new administrative position with the Turkish Football Federation. Taylor expressed gratitude that his decades of top-tier experience are held in high regard as he prepares to shape the next generation of elite referees.