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Anthony Taylor informed of major PGMOL decision after Chelsea Premier League controversy

Anthony Taylor during Chelsea's 1-0 win over Bournemouth.
-Credit: (Image: Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)


After a record-breaking outing in Chelsea's 1-0 win over AFC Bournemouth, referee Anthony Taylor will not be in the middle for a Premier League fixture this weekend. The official brandished a whopping 14 yellow cards, the highest in a top-flight fixture, as Christopher Nkunku's second-half strike was the difference.

The Blues picked up their first win in the Premier League since the 6-2 win over Wolves at Molineux at the end of August. Enzo Maresca's side moved to within two points of the top four thanks to the Frenchman's strike - four minutes from time, after combining with summer arrival Jadon Sancho.

While it was a historic and controversial outing in terms of cautions, as the Premier League saw more yellow cards in one weekend than ever before (65), the game featured little to no malice between the two clubs. Eight Chelsea players were shown yellow cards, with the Italian head coach also landing himself in the book shortly after the hour mark.

Six of Andoni Iraola's side were booked as the Cherries suffered a narrow defeat after missing a penalty in the first-half. Robert Sanchez brought down Evanilson but atoned for his error to stop the 24-year-old opening his Premier League account.

Taylor will still be involved on a matchday for officials as he will be the fourth official for Ipswich Town's trip to fellow Premier League newcomers Southampton before he will be in position at the AMEX Stadium for Brighton & Hove Albion's clash with Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body who officiates in English football, state that no referee officiates every matchweek, as they rotate between refereeing, serving as fourth officials and handling video assistant referee (VAR) duties.

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Taylor has been ever present as a match referee so far this season. The 45-year-old has officiated four Premier League games this season, including two of Chelsea's encounters, and was in charge of Liverpool's 3-0 win over Manchester United on the eve of the international break.

Former Premier League referee, and now analyst for Sky Sports, Dermot Gallagher said: "He set his stall out early and so he's forced to continue, which he did. The first yellow was for delaying restart so he was hamstrung then. Once he started booking players for fouls, he had to keep going."