The beautiful game’s law enforcers have a difficult job: whether they’re keeping players’ emotions in check or mulling over a painstaking VAR decision, being a Premier League referee is an unenviable task.
And when things don’t go their way, supporters often direct their ire towards the official in the middle. However, whether or not it is justified is another matter.
But are there referees that fans of certain clubs should truly dread the sight of? Which referees are least likely to hand teams the benefit of the doubt, and are there any that could, statistically speaking, provide cause for concern even before a ball is kicked?
We’ve delved into the stats to answer these questions as we identify each Premier League club’s ‘worst’ referee.
For this list, we’ve looked at referees’ stats with regard to red cards given, penalties conceded and a team’s win rate under certain officials in the Premier League.
All active referees who took charge of a 2023/24 Premier League match have been considered for this list, while in the interests of fairness, win rates are only considered where a referee has taken control of at least five top-flight games.
And with Ipswich Town not being in the Premier League for over 22 years prior to this season, we have considered matches in the Championship and League One under the same referees.
Of course, there are no conspiracies to be had here; simply handing teams a certain number of cards or penalties is by no means a sign of incompetence or bias – more likely, it’s just a ref doing their job.
But who do the stats, courtesy of Transfermarkt, point to if there is such a thing as a ‘bogey’ referee? Let’s find out…
All stats correct as of Monday 30th September.
Arsenal Michael Oliver
He may have been at the centre of more recent controversy following the Gunners’ high-tempered draw at Manchester City in the Premier League, but Michael Oliver’s chequered history with the Gunners goes back a fair bit.
In the top flight, Oliver has issued 6 red cards and given 13 penalties against the north Londoners, while Arsenal win just 44% of their matches under him. Considering how much they win nowadays, that’s a pretty alarming statistic.
Of course, as with several refs on this list, Oliver’s stats will naturally look worse as he takes control of Arsenal often – only Liverpool have had more games involving him.
That is also the reason Anthony Taylor can claim a close second, as he’s also given 6 reds and 10 pens – but the Gunners win more often under him.
Overall record
P52 W23 D11 L18
Yellow cards
97
Red cards
6
Penalties for
5
Penalties against
13
Win rate
44%
Last win
2-0 v Aston Villa, Aug 2024
Aston Villa Michael Oliver
Michael Oliver’s main crime here is that he’s been around for too long. However, those of an Aston Villa persuasion need look no further for their refereeing nemesis.
Out of the active referees, no one has given more reds to Villa than the Northumberland man, while his tally of six penalties is at least four higher than other ref’s. A woeful 27% win rate under Oliver merely adds insult to injury.
Chris Kavanagh and Paul Tierney are among those who could overtake him in the future, with the former giving three reds and two pens in the space of just 13 games.
Meanwhile, the Villans have won just 2 in 11 under Tierney, having won none of their 9 matches under him prior to last season.
Bournemouth Craig Pawson
There isn’t really a standout candidate when it comes to Bournemouth’s referee stats, but Craig Pawson has drawn the short straw on this occasion.
Within 16 Cherries games, Pawson has issued a red card and three penalties against them, along with a 31% win rate. One of those penalties helped to deny Gary O’Neil’s side victory at Newcastle in 2022, when Jefferson Lerma was harshly judged (by VAR) to have handled a cross from Kieran Trippier.
Bournemouth have rotten records under the likes of Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor, but Pawson’s charge sheet is grim reading even though he has taken charge of more Cherries games than anyone else.
Brentford David Coote
With Brentford only in their fourth Premier League season, their history with Premier League referees is very much in its infancy. However, David Coote has certainly been busy in the six games he’s had involving the Bees.
Thomas Frank’s side have won zero with Coote in charge, while the Nottinghamshire official lost control during Brentford’s ill-tempered 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa last season, where he sent off Ben Mee and failed to keep a handle on antics from Emiliano Martinez and Neal Maupay.
It’s not much to go on, but Coote’s next visit to west London won’t be the greatest omen.
Brighton & Hove Albion Chris Kavanagh
Brighton often perform poorly when Chris Kavanagh is on the same pitch as them. Not only do they only have a 14% win rate with him, but this particular referee has also awarded opponents five spot kicks in just 14 games.
He may have given them a helping hand in recent weeks with his sending-off of Declan Rice against Arsenal, but that was a game that further dented their success rate, with only one win coming since their inaugural Premier League campaign (against Leeds United in May 2021).
Craig Pawson and Anthony Taylor have also awarded Seagulls opponents several penalties between them, while Brighton’s poor win rate with Kavanagh is only marginally worse than their record with Michael Oliver (17%).
Chelsea Anthony Taylor
It may be fair to say that Anthony Taylor has long been the bane of Chelsea fans. He was in the middle for two of their FA Cup final defeats (with contentious calls and red cards in both), while he recently handed the Blues eight yellows on a bizarre record-breaking night for cautions at Bournemouth.
And the stats have him as the outright outlier when it comes to their record compared to other refs. Taylor has awarded opponents EIGHT penalties in the Premier League – no other current referee has given more than two against Chelsea.
Away from Taylor, another eye-catching stat was their dire record under Jarred Gillett. They have won just once in six matches, while their one defeat came amid a red card for Malo Gusto against Aston Villa last season.
The Premier League matches with the most cards
Here are the feistiest, card-happy matches in Premier League history.
1 ByLewis Thompson Crystal Palace Michael Oliver
We think Crystal Palace fans would have every reason to dread the presence of Michael Oliver. Oliver is an experienced ref, so it’s no surprise he has handled more Eagles games than other officials.
That said, he has given Palace’s opponents seven penalties, having given fewer to most of the clubs he has taken charge of more often. Only Watford and Arsenal can claim to have a worse penalties-per-game ratio.
Andy Madley has a similarly blotted copybook in Palace matches, have handed out three reds in their last three matches – including an incredibly harsh second yellow for Jordan Ayew last season against Liverpool when the Eagles had led.
Everton Craig Pawson
With Everton’s form largely unimpressive in recent years, it is little surprise that the vast majority of referees appear to have it in for them.
However, the worst combination of the statistics we’re interested in has to go to Craig Pawson. While they are winless in nine matches under John Brooks, their next-worst record is with Pawson, who has overseen just 5 Everton wins in 26 games – a shocking 19% win rate.
Pawson has also handed out five reds during that time, including in last season’s Merseyside derby defeat at Anfield in a game where he failed to send off Ibrahima Konate for what would have been a deserved second booking.
Fulham Graham Scott
Like Everton, Fulham have also been unlucky under Craig Pawson – they have never won in eight games alongside him.
But perhaps a worse fate than having Pawson assigned to a Fulham match would be Graham Scott taking charge. While the Whites have only had seven matches under him, a larger chunk of these have come since their most recent promotion.
Although Fulham finally won under Scott during this time, their record remains poor, while there is often drama. In fact, four of their last five matches with Scott have featured a penalty, a red card, or both – and the odds aren’t usually in the west Londoners’ favour.
Ipswich Town David Coote
Despite Ipswich finally returning to the top flight this summer, they have not been able to escape the wrath of would-be Premier League referees during their time in the Championship and League One.
Unsurprisingly, there isn’t a huge amount of data to go by, but the Tractor Boys may want to be wary of David Coote, with whom they have been on the winning side just twice in 15 Championship games.
Granted, all bar one of those matches were in the 2017/18 season or earlier, but the trend did continue when they were held to a draw by West Brom in their successful promotion campaign last year.