Anthony Taylor has come under scrutiny for his decision to take Arsenal's wall further back than required before Bruno Fernandes' free-kick goal for Manchester United on Sunday
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09:00, 11 Mar 2025
Arsenal have been left feeling hard done by Anthony Taylor during the draw with Manchester United
Arsenal's wall was further away than the required 10 yards for Manchester United's free-kick goal
(Image: Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Gary Lineker and Micah Richards have come to the defence of Anthony Taylor after the referee came under fire for Manchester United’s free-kick goal against Arsenal.
Bruno Fernandes scored a stunning free-kick just before half-time in Sunday's Premier League clash at Old Trafford, giving United the lead after Leandro Trossard's foul on Alejandro Garnacho outside the box.
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As Fernandes stood over the ball, matchday official Taylor walked the Arsenal players in the wall closer towards their own goal. The Red Devils captain managed to send the ball over the heads of Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel, and Declan Rice and past David Raya in goal.
While commentating on the game, United icon Gary Neville noticed that the wall was made to stand further back than usual, stating: "The wall looks a fair way back. Looks like it's giving him a chance. It looks a mile back.
"Usually, you see the wall, particularly a big wall like that, it always looks really difficult to get it up and over. There just seemed to be so much space, so much space that he didn't even have to go that high up into the net."
Sky Sports revealed afterwards that the wall was 11.2 yards away, not the standard 10, due to Taylor's miscount. And Neville added after the game that you could tell "something was wrong" as the ball went in only "halfway up the net".
But Match of the Day duo Lineker and Richards now have come out in support of the much-criticised referee, claiming Taylor made a genuine error. Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker said: "I actually thought that’s quite refreshing he’s taken them back because so often now you see the wall about six yards or seven yards away and it’s impossible to score but you can see why Arsenal perhaps might have the hump around that."
Pundit Alan Shearer weighed in: "Not taking anything away from Fernandes, I think he had a huge space to aim at. It’s a great skill to be able to do that, to get the pace on it, up and down as quickly as he did. It was a brilliant free-kick but the keeper was miles away from it, wasn’t he?"
Richards then added: "A lot of people will be asking, who aren’t die-hard fans, ‘what does it matter?’ If the wall’s further back he has more space to get the ball up and down so it’s more difficult for the goalkeeper. But I mean, if we’re scrutinising that… the referee took 10 steps didn’t he?
English referee Anthony Taylor smiles during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on March 9, 2025
Anthony Taylor left Arsenal fans feeling hard done by
"We can’t be blaming the referee for that because it happens. I think now in football, we’re over-analysing everything. The referee’s human, he’s walked out and taken ten steps. You’ve got all these amazing technologies nowadays that give you precise… but football’s never been like that has it? And you can’t expect the referee to get a ruler out and start measuring exact lengths."
He continued: "I think the more frustrating thing for Arsenal is, after the Champions League that big 7-1 win, to come to Old Trafford and not be able to break down Man United. I think that’s the bigger question. We can blame all these little decisions but ultimately I thought Man United defended a lot better."
United playmaker Christian Eriksen admitted post-match that the positioning of the wall played a significant role in United breaking the deadlock. The Dane said: "Happy that the wall was about 15 metres away, so it was perfect for him to put it over.
"I think I saw it early before the kick. It was the same when they had it in the second-half, obviously we were a bit angry with the ref for putting us so far back."
Arsenal goalkeeper Raya redeemed himself with several crucial saves to keep Mikel Arteta's team in contention, while Declan Rice's spectacular goal in the 74th minute secured a draw. Still, the outcome only made Liverpool’s Premier League triumph this season more likely, with Arsenal now trailing the league leaders by 15 points with a game in hand.