Paul Taylor (referee)
Encyclopedia
Paul Taylor is an English
football
referee, who previously took charge of Premier League matches for just one season, and now officiates in the Football League
. He has also officiated for UEFA
and FIFA
in the past. He subsequently re-located to Hertfordshire
.
, the Isthmian League
and the Panel League Competitions.
He was appointed as a Football League
assistant referee in 1986 and promoted to referee in 1990. At this point he was aged only thirty and the youngest member on the List. As a newly requalified referee the majority of his appointments over the next three seasons were usually in the lower divisions.
In 1993 he lost his place; under previous circumstances that would have been the end of his Football League career. Until 1993, demoted referees were not given another chance to get back onto the List. A change of policy, however, allowed him to revert to assistant status while refereeing in the Football Conference
. In 1995 he successfully regained his refereeing place. This feat has since been matched by Brian Coddington, Fred Graham and Gary Lewis.
Taylor has had far greater success in his second spell on the List. Indeed he gained further promotion to the FA Premier League
for the season 2000-01
. However, follwong low markings and a number of controversies he was demoted to the Football League after just one season where he continues to be one of its leading officials.
Taylor has refereed the Hertfordshire Senior County Cup Final, the FA Sunday Cup
Final and several International matches at both Youth and semi-professional level. He has also officiated in the Football League Play-Offs
on six occasions including the League Two Final at the Millennium Stadium
, Cardiff
, in 2006.
Other notable appointments include refereeing Cheltenham Town
’s first game in the Football League and Southampton
's last match at The Dell versus Arsenal
.
His overseas appointments include the 2000-01 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round fixture between Dynamo Kiev
and Red Star Belgrade
. Taylor refereed his first senior FIFA
International between Nigeria
and Venezuela
in August 2003. In 2004 he was fourth official at the FA Trophy
Final. In the same year, he retired from international refereeing due to age restrictions. In 2005 he became a County Accredited Referees Instructor and in 2006 qualified as a National Licensed Instructor.
The 2007-08
season was due to be his final one as a League referee before retirement, however after appealing the decision to remove him from the National List of referees because of age, he was included for the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons. He refereed the Ipswich
v Preston
match on the opening day of the 2008-2009 Championship season. Paul also refereed the carling cup 2nd round match between West Ham & Millwall.
His final fixture was the League One match between Wycombe Wanderers and Gillingham on 8th May 2010. He now works as a Referee Coach for the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd.
On August 19, 2000 he was the fourth official for the Sunderland v Arsenal game. He alleged that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had pushed him in the tunnel after the match. Wenger was eventually unanimously cleared of a charge of threatening behavior.
On October 14, 2000 it was alleged that he made insulting and personal remarks to Notts County player Sean Farrell during the game against Wigan Athletic. The case against Taylor was dismissed at a disciplinary hearing in February 2001.
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England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
referee, who previously took charge of Premier League matches for just one season, and now officiates in the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
. He has also officiated for UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
and FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
in the past. He subsequently re-located to Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
.
Career
He first began refereeing in 1977 and progressed via the Hertfordshire County LeagueHertfordshire Senior County League
The Hertfordshire Senior County League or Herts Senior County League is a football competition based in England. It was founded in 1898. It currently has two divisions for first teams along with two divisions for reserve teams and is a feeder to the Spartan South Midlands Football League...
, the Isthmian League
Isthmian League
The Isthmian League is a regional football league covering London and South East England featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. It is sponsored by Ryman, and therefore officially known as the Ryman League. It was founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area...
and the Panel League Competitions.
He was appointed as a Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
assistant referee in 1986 and promoted to referee in 1990. At this point he was aged only thirty and the youngest member on the List. As a newly requalified referee the majority of his appointments over the next three seasons were usually in the lower divisions.
In 1993 he lost his place; under previous circumstances that would have been the end of his Football League career. Until 1993, demoted referees were not given another chance to get back onto the List. A change of policy, however, allowed him to revert to assistant status while refereeing in the Football Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
. In 1995 he successfully regained his refereeing place. This feat has since been matched by Brian Coddington, Fred Graham and Gary Lewis.
Taylor has had far greater success in his second spell on the List. Indeed he gained further promotion to the FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
for the season 2000-01
2000-01 in English football
The 2000–01 season was the 121st season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Manchester United secured their 3rd Premiership title in succession and their 7th title in just nine seasons...
. However, follwong low markings and a number of controversies he was demoted to the Football League after just one season where he continues to be one of its leading officials.
Taylor has refereed the Hertfordshire Senior County Cup Final, the FA Sunday Cup
FA Sunday Cup
The FA Sunday Cup is a knock-out competition for English Sunday league football teams.Prior to 1960 The Football Association did not permit clubs or players under its jurisdiction to take part in competitive football played on Sunday...
Final and several International matches at both Youth and semi-professional level. He has also officiated in the Football League Play-Offs
Football League Play-Offs
The Football League play-offs are an annual series of football matches to determine some of the promotion places within the Football League. Essentially, each division of the league offers a certain number of automatic promotion places to the top two or three clubs. A further promotion place is...
on six occasions including the League Two Final at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, in 2006.
Other notable appointments include refereeing Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham Town F.C.
Cheltenham Town Football Club is an English football club playing in League Two, the fourth tier of English football. Founded in 1887, the team has played at four different grounds, namely Agg-Gardner's Recreation Ground, Carter's Field and now the Abbey Business Stadium, although it is more...
’s first game in the Football League and Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
's last match at The Dell versus Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
.
His overseas appointments include the 2000-01 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round fixture between Dynamo Kiev
FC Dynamo Kyiv
FC Dynamo Kyiv is a professional football club based in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv. Founded in 1927, the club currently participates in the Ukrainian Premier League and has spent its entire history in the top league of Soviet and later Ukrainian football...
and Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade
Red Star Belgrade is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions...
. Taylor refereed his first senior FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
International between Nigeria
Nigeria national football team
The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...
and Venezuela
Venezuela national football team
The Venezuela national football team is the national football team of Venezuela and is controlled by the Federación Venezolana de Fútbol. It is nicknamed La Vinotinto , because of the traditional burgundy color of their shirts....
in August 2003. In 2004 he was fourth official at the FA Trophy
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a knockout cup competition in English football, run by and named after The Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams...
Final. In the same year, he retired from international refereeing due to age restrictions. In 2005 he became a County Accredited Referees Instructor and in 2006 qualified as a National Licensed Instructor.
The 2007-08
2007-08 in English football
The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool...
season was due to be his final one as a League referee before retirement, however after appealing the decision to remove him from the National List of referees because of age, he was included for the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons. He refereed the Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
v Preston
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
match on the opening day of the 2008-2009 Championship season. Paul also refereed the carling cup 2nd round match between West Ham & Millwall.
His final fixture was the League One match between Wycombe Wanderers and Gillingham on 8th May 2010. He now works as a Referee Coach for the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd.
Controversy
Taylor was involved in two unusual controversial incidents during the 2000-01 season.On August 19, 2000 he was the fourth official for the Sunderland v Arsenal game. He alleged that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had pushed him in the tunnel after the match. Wenger was eventually unanimously cleared of a charge of threatening behavior.
On October 14, 2000 it was alleged that he made insulting and personal remarks to Notts County player Sean Farrell during the game against Wigan Athletic. The case against Taylor was dismissed at a disciplinary hearing in February 2001.
- Football League Handbooks, 1986–89
- Rothmans / Sky Sports Football Yearbooks, 1990–2006
External links
- Paul Taylor Referee Statistics at soccerbase.com