[Saba Sports News] Veteran English referee Anthony Taylor has officially announced his retirement. He oversaw a total of 831 matches throughout his career, with his final fixture being the World Cup tie where Spain beat Portugal 1-0. Regarded as one of England’s finest match officials, the 47-year-old took charge of 668 domestic professional games. The Round of 16 clash between Portugal and Spain at the United States, Canada and Mexico World Cup served as his farewell match, bringing a satisfying end to his refereeing career. Across 16 Premier League campaigns, Taylor officiated 432 top-flight fixtures and has taken charge of finals for every major domestic cup competition in England. His notable appointments include the FA Cup finals in 2017 and 2020, the League Cup final in 2015, the 2015 FA Community Shield, and the 2018 EFL Championship play-off final. Taylor also boasts an outstanding record on the international stage. He remained on FIFA’s international referee list for 14 years. During this period, he officiated at two World Cups (2022 and 2026), two European Championships (2020 and 2024), alongside two FIFA Club World Cups (2022 and 2025).
Across the 163 international matches he officiated as head referee, Taylor was regularly handed high-profile assignments, taking charge of some of the biggest fixtures in world football. These include the 2020 UEFA Super Cup, the 2021 UEFA Nations League final, the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup final, the 2023 UEFA Europa League final and the 2024 UEFA Champions League semi-final. Before establishing himself as one of Europe’s leading referees, Taylor also worked as an additional assistant referee (AAR, commonly known as the goal-line official) in numerous key UEFA competitions. His appointments in this role covered the 2014 UEFA Super Cup, the 2015 UEFA Europa League final, the 2016 UEFA Champions League final and the UEFA Euro 2016 final.