Following Morgan Gibbs-White’s attack on Joao Pedro, Brighton vs Nottingham Forest saw three red cards. Anthony Taylor served as the match’s fourth official at the Amex.
Three red cards in less than a minute during Nottingham Forest against Brighton have referee Anthony Taylor mired in controversy once more.
Taylor officiated the game this past weekend after he was singled out by internet trolls during Bournemouth’s encounter against Chelsea. He was the fourth official for the contest. On that occasion, the 45-year-old issued a record 14 yellow cards, in addition to two more to the coaching staff.
On social media, the official received horrendous abuse, with some individuals threatening to kill him and his family. The PGMOL provided Taylor assistance while the Premier League prepared to look into the abuse.
It’s understandable that the referee wanted a peaceful weekend, but this time around he was in the thick of things when Morgan Gibbs-White was sent off after receiving a second yellow card. Joao Pedro of the Seagulls was the target of a reckless challenge from behind by the former Wolves player.
The game’s referee, Rob Jones, first seemed to indicate that the Forest player had won the ball with his hands right after the tackle, but he quickly issued a second yellow card for the play. After attempting to persuade Jones of his argument, Gibbs-White was left stunned by the outcome and was spotted yelling at Taylor as he departed the field.
Following the incident, Nuno Espirito Santo and Fabian Hurzeler were given the order to march. The latter let out his fury with Jones and Taylor when the red was given, but the former seemed to lose his calm at the first slowness in making a judgment.
The Premier League Match Center social media account said, “The referee issued a second yellow card to Gibbs-White for a reckless challenge on Pedro.” “Fabian Hürzeler and Nuno Espírito Santo were both sent off for their unacceptable technical area behaviour following the incident.”
After the 2-2 tie, Rui Pedro Silva, Santo’s assistant, was also booked and talked to the media. “My perspective from the bench, I think the tackle from Morgan was a little bit speedy, but he touched the ball,” he stated.
Therefore, at the time, I didn’t believe it to be a second yellow. Since I was running late, I was unaware of Anthony Taylor’s two red card incidents. It’s not a second yellow in my opinion. I can see why they would want to keep the emotions under control on the bench; the game is finished, job done.”
Andrew Crofts, the Brighton coach, said that his team was “upset” by Gibbs-White’s challenge to Pedro. “The tackle on Joao looked like it wasn’t a great tackle,” Crofts stated.
“We took offense at it. The response is to watch the referee’s actions. Because I was interacting with a player, I was blind to it. The managers’ red cards were what I saw the next.”
