Referee who enraged Alan Shearer in January set to take charge of Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle United

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Newcastle United head to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest on Saturday night, and the referee for the fixture has now been announced.

For the third time in the Premier League this season, Anthony Taylor will take charge of a Newcastle United game.

He will be hoping for a straightforward evening, but that has not been the case on either of the occasions that he has refereed Eddie Howe‘s side this season.

Anthony Taylor incorrectly gave Newcastle a penalty against Wolves

The first was the 2-2 draw with Wolves. A Callum Wilson brace won Newcastle a point at Molineux, but one of his goals was very controversial.

Wilson’s second was a penalty which never should have been given. Fabian Schar went to ground in the box, leading to Taylor pointing to the spot. Replays showed that it was a really poor decision, but VAR did not intervene.

It was a mistake by Taylor, but one that Newcastle benefitted from. Even Alan Shearer admitted after the game that it was never a penalty.

He was conned by Jota during Newcastle’s loss to Liverpool

And Shearer was also critical of Taylor after his second Newcastle match this season. That was at Anfield on January 1st, when Eddie Howe’s side lost 4-2.

Liverpool were deserving winners, but their fourth goal was infuriating. It came from the spot, with Diogo Jota rounding Martin Dubravka before throwing himself to the floor.

Just like at Wolves, Taylor pointed to the spot. He was conned again, much to the anger of Shearer – although he was perhaps more annoyed with Jota’s dive than the referee’s decision.

The 45-year-old has got a big decision wrong during each of his last two Newcastle games, and it will hopefully not become three.

He has also been pretty card happy when it comes to the Magpies this season, dishing out a grand total of nine yellow cards to Newcastle players during his two Toon games. He will probably move into double figures on Saturday, but as long as he doesn’t give one to Bruno Guimaraes, who is on the brink of a two-game suspension.