West Ham United v Liverpool
Premier League, London Stadium, Saturday 27 April 2024, 12.30pm BST
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistant Referees: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn
Fourth Official: Josh Smith
VAR: Tim Robinson
Assistant VAR: Wade Smith
Anthony Taylor has been confirmed as the man in the middle for Saturday’s Premier League match at home to Liverpool.
A top-flight referee since 2010, Taylor is one of England’s most experienced officials and has previously taken charge of two FA Cup finals, an EFL Cup final, the FA Community Shield, the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup final, the 2022/23 UEFA Europa League final and, at international level, the 2021 UEFA Nations League final.
The 45-year-old also famously reacted quickly when Denmark's Christian Eriksen collapsed during his country's UEFA Euro 2020 tie with Finland, and is credited with helping save the Manchester United midfielder's life due to his swift actions in calling for medical attention.
A veteran of over 700 games in all competitions, Taylor refereed his 35th fixture involving West Ham United at Brighton & Hove Albion in August 2023, where James Ward-Prowse, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio goals earned the Hammers a 3-1 win.
That Brighton clash is one of 23 matches in which the Wythenshawe native has held the whistle this season, while he has also refereed four times in the UEFA Champions League, twice in the Europa League and three times internationally during 2023/24.
Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn will serve as the assistant referees at London Stadium.
The duo regularly officiate matches alongside Taylor, and duly served with him at last season’s aforementioned Europa League final, that saw Sevilla beat Roma on penalties in Budapest, and at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Both men have run the line on 26 occasions in the Premier League this campaign, with Beswick and Nunn surpassing the 300 and 250 match milestones in the competition respectively.
Josh Smith will work as the fourth official on Saturday.
Officiating runs in Smith’s family, with his dad and grandfather refereeing in football and rugby league respectively, and Smith is an experienced whistler in the EFL, where he has taken charge of over 120 games.
Though the five Premier League fixtures he has refereed haven’t involved West Ham, he did oversee September’s EFL Cup win over Lincoln City, and he has previously been the fourth official at two Irons games.
Finally, Tim Robinson is set to look after Video Assistant Referee duties.
One of the Premier League’s newest regular officials, Robinson refereed West Ham’s 1-1 draw at home to AFC Bournemouth in February, and was the VAR against Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this month.
