West Ham United v Liverpool
Premier League, London Stadium, Sunday 29 December 2024, 5.15pm GMT
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistant Referees: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn
Fourth Official: Steve Martin
VAR: Darren England
Assistant VAR: Simon Bennett
Anthony Taylor has been confirmed as the referee for West Ham United’s Premier League clash at home to Liverpool on Sunday.
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 2023 UEFA Europa League final and, at international level, the 2021 UEFA Nations League final between France and Spain. In 2020, Taylor became the first referee since 1901 to referee two FA Cup finals when he was in charge of Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Chelsea.
Born in Wythenshawe, Manchester, he worked his way up to the Premier League after starting out in the Northern Premier League - English football’s seventh tier - and since February 2010, when he took charge of a game between Portsmouth and Fulham, Taylor has tallied 387 Premier League matches and counting.
The 46-year-old also famously reacted quickly when Denmark's Christian Eriksen collapsed during his country's UEFA Euro 2020 group-stage 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 750 games in all competitions, Taylor refereed his 38th fixture involving West Ham United against Arsenal in November, while the Liverpool clash is the 17th Premier League encounter in which Taylor has held the whistle in the 2024/25 season, with his most recent appointment coming in Newcastle’s win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
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 in the aforementioned Arsenal clash at the end of last month.
Both men have run the line together on 16 occasions in the Premier League this campaign, with Beswick and Nunn surpassing the 300 and 250-match milestones last season in the competition respectively.
Steve Martin will be the fourth official on Sunday.
The Staffordshire native has never refereed in the Premier League, but has taken charge of two West Ham games, against Accrington Stanley in 2016 and Newport County in 2019, both resulting in wins in the EFL Cup.
He has served as the fourth official at nine matches involving those in Claret and Blue, most recently in the Premier League win at Everton in March.
Video Assistant Referee responsibilities will be overseen by Darren England. The 39-year-old refereed West Ham’s 2-2 draw with Burnley in March, and is set to take charge of his eighth Premier League match of the season - Arsenal v Ipswich Town - on Friday 27 December.
