Crystal Palace fans were left disappointed when it was announced that Anthony Taylor would be refereeing their match against Watford this upcoming weekend. The news was shared online by @FYPFanzine on Twitter.
Taylor has refereed 248 matches in the English Premier League. In this time he has given 870 yellow cards, 13 second yellows and 22 red cards. He has also awarded 65 penalties.
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In the 25 Crystal Palace matches he has refereed, the Eagles have only won eight and drawn five.
These fans shared their displeasure at the news. They don’t like Taylor and reckon that their players will need protection.
I can’t stand Anthony Taylor
— tom? (@tomjones2610) March 3, 2020
Genuinely believe he’s the worst of the lot.
— Lee Eyres (@lee_eyres) March 2, 2020
Well that’s where the crowd have to get behind the team and challe get every decision.lets make Selhurst a fortress
— Jed_Die (@Jed_Die) March 3, 2020
Hopefully McCarthy is fit. Probably the one who will fight them all and not tickle them like luka
— Mark (@EagleMarkCPFC) March 2, 2020
Expect some more injuries….no protection for any of our players from a nasty little team.
— A.M.T (@an_amt) March 3, 2020
Will Anthony Taylor cost Crystal Palace the match on the weekend?
No
Yes
One fan, however, doesn’t think they can use Taylor as an excuse. They have to win outright. Simple as that.
Simple, don’t leave the game down to the ref to decide who has the upper hand
— Matt (@MattCPFC) March 2, 2020
What do we think?
Contrary to the belief of these Palace fans, his statistics tell another story. Despite Palace failing to win around half of the matches he has taken over, he has handed out a similar number of yellow cards to Palace and their opponents.
Palace have received 44 yellow cards from the referee while their opponents have received 46.
He has also awarded Palace eight penalties, while their opponents have been awarded just four.
While the fans clearly dislike the referee, these statistics suggest he has been more than fair in the past. Hopefully, for Palace fans, this theory is proved right on the weekend.