Exclusive: Former referee accuses Anthony Taylor of 'weakness' after FA Cup chaos at Wigan

Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey believes Anthony Taylor ‘looked weak’ as he appeared to changed his decision and send off Manchester City’s Fabian Delph in Monday’s dramatic FA Cup fifth round tie at Wigan.

Taylor was preparing to hand Delph a yellow card following his challenge on Max Power before changing his decision and sent off the City star after appearing to be swayed by the protests of Wigan players.

Now Halsey has told Yahoo Sport that Taylor’s indecision was a far bigger mistake than the final decision he delivered.

“The moment Anthony Taylor pulled out a yellow card out and started the cautioning procedure and writing Fabian Delph’s number on the back, that should have been his final decision, but he was influenced by the protests of the Wigan players and coaching team and that appeared to change his mind,” believes Halsey.

“That can never happen. You have to stand by your decision whatever pressure you may come under and stay mentally strong. A referee looks weak if it appears he is being influenced by players surrounding him on the field.

“When a player make a challenge of the nature Delph did, he runs the risk of being sent off when he went into that challenge and he gave the referee a decision that could have gone either way. It was between a yellow and red card, maybe an orange card you could say, but that does not explain the way the referee handled the situation.

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“The first mistake he made was pulling the yellow card out so quickly. The referee should have taken time to assess the situation, replay the incident in his mind and seek additional information from his colleagues to come to right conclusion.

“Instead, Anthony Taylor appeared to get confused by the Wigan players around him and maybe even influenced by the Wigan bench, who were very vocal in their protests to the fourth official Jeremy Simpson.

“Both the referee and the fourth official have to be strong despite the pressure of that situation and on this occasion, both appeared to lack that conviction to stand by the initial decision, which was a yellow card.

“The fourth official could have added to the uncertainty in the mind of the referees by giving him additional information after his initial decision was made. Once the referee is going through a cautioning procedure, the fourth official should not give any additional information, but it appeared that protocol was broken on this occasion.”

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Halsey went on to insist Taylor would have had his red and yellow cards in different pockets, as he argued the confusion could and should have been avoided.

“I wouldn’t have disagreed had a red card come out after that challenge, but the way we got to that decision was not satisfactory,” he added. “Anthony Taylor has just been appointed to the elite UEFA list and if he changed his mind in the manner he did in the Wigan v Man City game during a Champions League match, he would be in big trouble with UEFA.”

Mark Halsey is a former Premier League referee and works with You Are The Ref as senior referee coach.