Wolves sporting director banned for calling ref Anthony Taylor "f****** useless"

29 November 2023 , 18:36

385     0

Matt Hobbs criticised Taylor in the wake of Wolves' 2-2 draw with Newcastle last month as the Premier League official left the pitch (Image: Getty Images)

Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs served a one-match ban after claiming referee Anthony Taylor was "absolutely f****** useless", The Football Association have confirmed.

Hobbs, who has been at Molineux since 2015 and was promoted to his current role in November 2022, criticised Taylor in the wake of Wolves' 2-2 draw with Newcastle last month as the Premier League official left the pitch.

The match was marred by the controversial decision to award Newcastle a penalty after Hwang Hee-chan was adjudged to have fouled Newcastle defender Fabian Schar by VAR; a decision which ultimately earned the Magpies a point.

Upon hearing Hobbs' remark, Taylor outlined such behaviour was unacceptable and alleged in a hearing earlier this month that Hobbs replied: "We look forward to your apology again."

Hobbs was subsequently charged by The FA with misconduct for a breach of FA Rule E3.1 and issued with a £4,000 fine in addition to the one-match ban.

Chelsea complete record-breaking Enzo Fernandez transfer after deadline day rush

The sporting director's comments to Taylor relate to a number of controversial decisions that have gone against Wolves in recent months. They were issued with an apology by the PGMOL after they were denied a penalty against Manchester United in their opening match of the season, with VAR failing to intervene after Andre Onana had flattened Sasa Kalajdzic in the penalty area.

Wolves head coach Gary O'Neil, who has held talks with PGMOL chief Howard Webb this season, was put on the spot after even more decisions went against his side in Monday night's 3-2 loss against Fulham, who were awarded two soft penalties. Carlos Vinicius and Tim Ream were also fortunate to avoid being sent off.

Join the debate! Do you think the Premier League should persist with VAR? Let us know here.

The Wolves sporting director has served a one-match ban (Malcolm Couzens)

"Nelson touched the ball for the first penalty and doesn't touch Tom Cairney. The referee said he thinks he got it wrong and should have been sent to the monitor," O'Neil said after the match.

"That doesn't help me, our fans who have travelled here or our players who are feeling frustrated again. The referee has admitted it was a mistake.

"We disagree on the second one. I think it was really soft. You could argue two of them could go against us but for all four to go against us is very tough. We have been here a lot of times already this season and we don't deserve that. It is bad luck that it keeps going against us but there are bad referee decisions in there.

"I am trying to remain calm and I haven't been abusing the referee But there are six or seven points that have gone against us. I am managing a big club and the difference that is making to my reputation, us climbing the league and people's livelihoods is huge. With all the technology and time, in the biggest league in the world, it can't be okay that we are getting so many wrong."

Dan Marsh