'Shocking' - Richard Keys fumes over Chelsea vs Man City decision after Preston North End outing

Richard Keys has questioned the decision to reinstate Anthony Taylor as a Premier League referee, following his involvement in Preston North End's win over Coventry City.

Taylor was on duty in the Championship last weekend, having made a contentious decision in the Wolves vs Newcastle United match a fortnight ago. He oversaw PNE's win over the Sky Blues at Deepdale. It finished 3-2 to the Lilywhites, but a key decision was to award the hosts a penalty. Coventry skipper Kyle McFadzean was adjudged to have brought down Milutin Osmajic and a spot-kick was awarded, which Alan Browne dispatched to make it 2-1 at the time.

The decision to award North End a penalty come under some spotlight, with some arguing that there wasn't much contact involving McFadzean and Osmajic - though the defender was adjudged to have grabbed the striker's shirt. The PGMOL, which is in charge of referees and appointments up and down the country, did not see any issues with his performance. And, as a result, Taylor is back in the Premier League game this weekend.

He has been appointed as the man in the middle for Chelsea vs Man City in the final Premier League match before the international break, but not everyone is happy. Long-serving Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys, who now works for beIN, questioned his appointment on social media.

"Can someone explain this to me please?" Keys asked on 'X', "Anthony Taylor is relegated to the C’ship for a week - gives another shocking pen - this time against Cov at Preston - then is immediately promoted back to PL for City v Chelsea." 

Ryan Lowe was the beneficiary of the decision, however he did not give much away and was just happy that his side scored the penalty and went on to win the match. The Lilywhites moved into the final play-off spot with the victory and went a bit towards getting their season back on track after a slump in form.

Lowe said: “Decisions are decisions and will happen throughout the Championship, but we’ve just got to make sure ours are the right ones. I know you would love me to burst out with a load of stuff now. I’ve got my own opinions, which will stay with me. Luckily for us, we got the penalty and we scored it."

Meanwhile Coventry boss, Mark Robins, said: "Having got that cushion and a starting point, then within two minutes we were 2-1 down and it seems ridiculous decisions – the second one was offside. The first movement was off-side and then he has given a penalty off the back of it, but two wrongs don’t make a right."