British referee Anthony Taylor and his family members were hurled abused by angry Roma fans at the Budapest airport hours after his questionable refereeing in the Europa League final left football fans seething in anger. Taylor was abused and harassed by angry Roma fans at the airport as he arrive to catch a flight with his daughter and wife. Videos of ugly scenes from the airport have gone viral on social media. While some have condemned the actions of Roma fans, an overwhelming majority of football fans have asked why no action was taken against Taylor by the football authorities for his dubious conduct during the Europa League final. The news of Taylor being abused and harassed with his family members was followed by a swift action from the UEFA, whi has charged Roma boss Jose Mourinho for hurling abuses at the referee after the match.
Referees body PGMOL said in a statement, “[We are] aware of videos circulating on social media showing Anthony Taylor and his family being harassed and abused at Budapest Airport.
“We are appalled at the unjustified and abhorrent abuse directed at Anthony and his family as he tries to make his way home from refereeing the Uefa Europa League final.
“We will continue to provide our full support to Anthony and his family.”
The attack on Taylor and his family at the airport came hours after videos shows Roma manager Jose manager Mourinho launching a tirade against the disgraced referee inside a car park.
Taylor has often been condemned for his questionable refereeing in football matches with English team Chelsea often being at the receiving end.
This is the reason why the opinions on social media appeared to be divided with an overwhelming majority of users showing no sympathy to the referee.
Anthony Taylor and his family doesn’t deserve abuse. But how a clearly incompetent referee constantly gets given finals needs to be addressed.
Let the best referee the biggest games. pic.twitter.com/fhAq40yHVf
— CarefreeLewisG (@CarefreeLewisG) June 1, 2023
Fans invest a lot in their clubs, they spend huge amounts of money, a lot of time, passion and energy.
Only for CORRUPT officials like Anthony Taylor to come, taking zero consideration on that, makes awful decisions and walks out scot-free without being sanctioned by the UEFA. pic.twitter.com/zhx8g9h3c8
— MourinhoXtra™ (@Mourinho_Xtra) June 2, 2023
If book are thrown at Jose Mourinho for verbally harassing Anthony Taylor after the game, then what should be done to Anthony Taylor for costing Roma the game?
Enough of all these referees consistent errors, something must be done. pic.twitter.com/hNGJ1ofvhf
— W. (@_Nezzy__) June 2, 2023
People are hilarious, they wanted Mourinho to bow down and thank Anthony Taylor for robbing Roma. He did absolutely nothing wrong, someone did his job terribly and Mourinho rightfully called him out
— Martín V (@Napoleonismo) June 2, 2023
Meanwhile Premier League too has said that it was shocked by the treatment meted out to Taylor and his family by Roma fans. It said in a statement, “We are shocked and appalled by the unacceptable abuse directed at Anthony Taylor and his family as they travelled back from the UEFA Europa League Final.
“No one should have to suffer the inexcusable behaviour they had to endure yesterday.
“Anthony is one of our most experienced and accomplished match officials and we fully support him and his family.”