Anthony Taylor AVOIDS punishment for Cody Gakpo farce – will ref this weekend

Despite a bizarre error in stopping Cody Gakpo from scoring against West Ham, Anthony Taylor has been kept on the PGMOL’s list of referees this weekend.

From the initial call to the on-field cover-up to the strange explanation after the Game, Taylor’s involvement late into Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with West Ham was remarkable.

After waving play on and urging West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola to get going, the referee then blew his whistle to halt Gakpo as he charged the ball down, ready to fire into an open net.

• READ: Referee Anthony Taylor blasted for “very messy” error in stopping Gakpo goal

Seemingly realising his error, Taylor then approached Areola and, with no obvious issue for the Frenchman, called West Ham physios onto the pitch for treatment.

Liverpool were denied what would have been a valuable winner, in the latest in a long list of baffling calls from officials in this season’s Premier League.

While it may have been expected that Taylor face punishment for his clear mistake, the 45-year-old will still referee in the Premier League this weekend.

PGMOL submitted their appointments to the top flight with Taylor in charge of Burnley vs. Newcastle in Saturday’s 3pm kickoff.

That may be viewed as a demotion of sorts, with Paul Tierney appointed the most high-profile fixture of the weekend in Liverpool vs. Tottenham, but that is unlikely to be the case.

More realistic is that those within PGMOL saw no issue with Taylor’s performance at the London Stadium, accepting his version of events.

It will only add to the mounting distrust of officials in English Football, particularly since the introduction of VAR to the Premier League in 2019.

Now, it is rare, if ever, that a fixture goes by without incident, with there evidence that a revamp of PGMOL is required from top to bottom in order to improve standards.

That Taylor is one of the most trusted officials in the Premier League and can produce such an error and avoid any internal backlash highlights the ongoing issue.