Ex-referee Dermot Gallagher has defended Anthony Taylor for a bizarre reason following a mistake in Arsenal’s draw with Manchester United.
The Gunners only managed to walk away with a point at Old Trafford, with Declan Rice sparing the side’s blushes with an equaliser in the second half.
It wasn’t enough to stop the scrutiny on Mikel Arteta though, with Arsenal settling for a draw with Man United that now pushes them further away from the top of the Premier League.
There was some controversy in the game though as referee Anthony Taylor made a mistake with Arsenal’s wall in a free-kick – one that led to Bruno Fernandes opening the scoring.
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Dermot Gallagher defends Anthony Taylor over Arsenal mistake
Plenty of discussion occurred after the match on Sunday surrounding the free-kick wall that both teams had to put up.
It was revealed that Arsenal’s wall was 11.2 yards from the ball, which is further than the ten yards that is maximum allowed, due to Anthony Taylor placing his spray after taking ten strides.
Declan Rice discussed the referee’s mistake, though he didn’t have much to say about the incident itself.
Micah Richards defended Anthony Taylor’s decision, putting it down to human error even though he made the ten strides that he is obliged to make.
Joining in on the conversation on Sky Sports was former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher, who had his say on the situation.
He said on Ref Watch: “The referee felt it was ten yards and in fairness to him, the law says a minimum of ten yards. It doesn’t say they can’t go back to 11.
“He may have factored in that when a free kick is taken, the wall moves forward anyhow so by the time the free kick is taken, it’s closer to ten.
“I’m not sure the calibration [of the measurement] is right anyhow, but Anthony Taylor will have his system of measuring ten yards.
“The pitch is cut in six-yard sections and looking at the pictures, it doesn’t look to be much of ten yards when you see it. There are guides for referees to help them.”
In the end, it was a mistake from the referee which is natural when precise measuring tools haven’t been used.
However, Gallagher’s claim in itself is a bizarre one.
Dermot Gallagher’s claim on Anthony Taylor mistake is strange
While Gallagher is correct in stating that no wall has to be ten yards out, that measurement is the maximum that a team is allowed.
Arsenal, in adhering to the line the referee placed, were at a disadvantage by not being able to use the maximum space possible.
If the Gunners had chosen to be deeper than the ten yards placed out for them, then it would be a question of their decision to move forward or back.
However, the side were not given the full ability to block the free-kick in the way they could’ve done, which will go down as a missed opportunity.
To suggest that the wall doesn’t have to be ten yards misses the point that Arsenal were adhering to the measurement that was placed for them.
On top of that, suggesting that Taylor may have factored in the wall moving is bizarre in itself, not least because the distance is such a large one to move by creeping forward but it then goes against the trust of both player and referee.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s a minuscule refereeing error that was made by doing the right process of measuring out the yards in paces, but not one that can be swept away in such a manner.
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