With Arsenal and Manchester United experiencing the effects of poor refereeing first hand this season, how has the officiating had an impact on the 2014/15 Premier League campaign?
This season has seen some horrendous refereeing decisions, which has resulted in increasing calls for an overhaul of the current system.
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Which refs have been at fault the most this campaign so far though? And which officials should be considered culpable?
Here is the list of the referees who have made the most mistakes in a single game this season, according to the Sun:
6) Craig Pawson – 1 mistake
Southampton’s Florin Gardos should have seen red after he brought down Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez.
Gardos was clearly the last man, but Pawson only produced a yellow.
Southampton went on to win 2-0.
5) Michael Oliver – 1 mistake
Stoke City managed a 1-1 draw with Manchester United on New Year’s day, but should arguably have come away with all three points.
Michael Oliver failed to award Stoke a clear penalty when Chris Smalling handballed in he area.
4) Kevin Friend – 1 mistake
Gareth Barry ridiculously handballed in the area during Everton’s game against Hull City, but Friend awarded a free-kick outside the area.
Hull ran out comfortable 2-0 winners, so the mistake was not a game changer.
3) Phil Dowd – 1 mistake
How Phil Dowd didn’t send off Chelsea’s Gary Cahill for his brutal kick on Tottenham Hotspur ‘s Harry Kane is a mystery, although the fact that Cahill didn’t receive retrospective punishment is equally perplexing.
Kane got his own back with two goals in the 5-3 trouncing of the league leaders.
2) Mike Jones – 2 mistakes
Leicester City were painfully unlucky not to beat Liverpool when the two sides last met, with Mike Jones awarding two penalties that should never have been.
The first was for an alleged handball, when in fact it hit Wes Morgan square in the face.
The second did hit the hand of Danny Simpson, but it was clearly accidental as the former Newcastle United man attempted to get his hand out of the way.
1) Anthony Taylor – 3 mistakes
In one of the worst refereeing displays in history, Anthony Taylor made three huge mistakes that really changed the game between Swansea City and QPR.
Swansea were furious when he failed to show shot-stopper Rob Green a red card after a handball outside the area.
He then incurred the wrath of the Swans a second time when he didn’t send off Karl Henry for a potential leg breaking challenge.
And to top it all off he sent off Swansea’s Wayne Routledge for nothing at all.