Football fans are slamming Anthony Taylor for awarding a controversial penalty during Preston’s clash with Coventry… with some claiming the referee should act under pressure in League One

Football fans have put pressure on referee Anthony Taylor over his actions during the match between Preston North End and Coventry City.

Taylor, 45, has once again hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons after awarding Preston a penalty in their Championship clash with the Sky Blues.

He was relegated to the Championship for the first time in four years after awarding Newcastle a controversial penalty against Wolves in October.

Taylor came under fire for a series of different votes after giving the visitors the penalty at Molineux that allowed Newcastle to take the lead in the first half. The referee pointed to the spot after Hwang Hee-chan brought down Fabian Schar while trying to clear the ball, and his decision was ruled out by VAR.

Wolves manager Gary O’Neil – who has previously been outspoken about refereeing issues after Wolves were on the receiving end of two more controversial decisions against Manchester United and Luton Town this season – branded Taylor’s call ‘outrageous’.

Your browser does not support iframes.

“Newcastle’s second goal was never a penalty,” he told Sky Sports.

‘It was a terrible decision on the pitch and thanks to VAR we (only) managed to come back.’

The 45-year-old referee now finds himself at the heart of another controversial decision.

During the first half of Preston’s clash with Coventry, Kyle McFadzean was adjudged to have brought down Milutin Osmajic in the penalty area, with Taylor awarding a penalty. However, replays showed the defender made minimal contact. Alan Browne would then score the penalty and the home side would win 3-2.

Fans have since taken to social media to express their anger over the decision.

One fan took to X, formerly known as Twitter, claiming Taylor should feature in League One.

“Anthony is on duty in the first division next week, I feel sorry for the first division,” the message read.

“Anthony Taylor will continue until he reaches Northern Premier League Div 1,” reads another message.

While a third commented: ‘Coming to a National League ground near you soon.’

‘Anthony Taylor making a shock Championship decision after being dropped from the PL? He will be refereeing the Sunday competition at the end of November,” said a third.

Although Taylor has come under scrutiny for his decision to award the penalty, a few fans believe the referee made the right decision.

‘The defender tries to bring the attacker down, which throws him out of step and threatens his attempted shot, but we don’t think it’s a penalty. I have no words,” one user tweeted.

‘I understand why it is given. “The defender is far from being able to play the ball and whether he slips or deliberately pushes the attacker, the referee interprets this as enough to deter the attacker and send his shot wide,” said another.

A third tweeted: ‘Probably enough to warrant a violation. But IF it is a foul, it should be a red card. That’s the real problem. Stand by your decision and go through with it, or don’t give it in the first place. What he has done there is bend the rules because he is afraid of the decision.”

Taylor is not the first Premier League official this season to be sent to the Championship in response to decision-making.

Adrian Holmes was sent to the line during Millwall’s home match against Hull in October – after wrongly ruling Luis Diaz’s goal offside during the much-publicised VAR brouhaha when Liverpool met Tottenham in north London.