The 10 Worst Refereeing Decisions Ever Made In The Premier League

What are the worst Premier League referee decisions ever made? There are certainly a plethora of strong contenders from the last three decades to pick from. 

Granted, top-flight officials face immense pressure every time they step on to the pitch to oversee a game. But some of these clangers are completely inexcusable.

Since the introduction of VAR, referees have gone even further under the microscope. More often than not, a bad or controversial decision can have a huge impact on the outcome of a club’s season.

With that in mind, we’ve identified the 10 worst Premier League referee decisions of all-time. These entries are memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Myles Lewis-Skelly Red Card Vs Wolves (2024/25)

We’ll start with the most recent incident and easily one of the worst Premier League referee decisions ever made. Arsenal wonderkid Myles Lewis-Skelly was given a straight red card for tripping Wolves’ Matt Doherty.

There’s no denying it was a well measured tactical foul. Some 75 yards from the Gunners goal and a yellow card looked certain. However, Michael Oliver dismissed the full-back much to everybody’s surprise.

None more so than Lewis-Kelly, who pleaded with Oliver to change his mind. It wasn’t to be but the Gunners went on to win 1-0 at Molineux. Unsurprisingly, the red card was rescinded on appeal.

Pedro Mendes Goal Not Given (2004/05)

Even after 20 years, the mind still boggles as to how Mark Clattenberg failed to award Tottenham’s Pedro Mendes a fine goal against Man United at Old Trafford.

The ball came to the Portuguese midfielder who larruped a speculative effort from just inside the United half which in theory, should have been an easy catch for Roy Carroll.

However, the goalkeeper made a right hash of it and clearly fumbled the ball a good yard over the line before clawing it away to safety. TV replays showed it definitely went in.

Frustratingly for Mendes, that would have likely been the winning goal as the incident occurred in the 90th minute with the score 0-0.

Ben Thatcher Assault On Pedro Mendes (2006/07)

Unfortunately for Pedro Mendes, he features twice but this entry is the polar opposite to his goal that wasn’t given against Man United.

Whilst playing for Portsmouth in an away game against Man City, Mendes was the victim of arguably the worst ever foul in Premier League history.

Whilst running to clear the ball near the touchline, City’s Ben Thatcher came steaming over and knocked Mendes clean out with a vicious elbow. Dermot Gallagher punished the assault with just a yellow card.

Mendes ended up in hospital and Thatcher was suspended by his employers. They also docked the defender two-weeks wages.

Luis Diaz Goal Chalked Off (2023/24)

Last season, Luis Diaz was the victim of one of the worst Premier League referee decisions ever made in the Tottenham vs Liverpool fixture in North London.

The Reds star sprung the offside trap and raced through to score for the Merseysiders. Almost immediately, the assistant raised his flag to indicate Diaz was in fact in an offside position.

VAR intervened and the lines drawn clearly showed Diaz’s position was completely legal. However, the officials informed referee Simon Hooper to stick with his original decision to disallow the effort.

Soon after, VAR realised they had made a huge mistake and human error was blamed for the huge mistake. The goal didn’t stand and Spurs went on to win the match.

Darren Bent Beach Ball Goal (2009/10)

Even to this day, Darren Bent’s beach ball goal is easily the most bizarre effort ever scored in Premier League history. And it definitely shouldn’t have counted.

Bent was playing for Sunderland as the Black Cats took on Liverpool at the Stadium of Light. A Red’s fan had palmed the plastic beach ball onto the pitch and well into the vicinity of Pepe Reina’s box.

During the first-half, the real ball found it’s way to Bent who lashed it goalwards and his strike bounced in off the foreign object. Ref Mike Jones was happy to award the goal.

However, during the interval Bent confessed to the ref how it truly ended up in the back of the net. According to the rules, any ‘outside interference’ such as what happened should have meant the goal was ruled out. Oops.

Rodri Handball Not Punished (2021/22)

During one of the epic Man City and Liverpool Premier League title races, a truly defining moment occurred during the Cityzen’s away game against Everton.

Pep Guardiola’s side were leading thanks to Phil Foden’s effort in the 82nd minute. Shortly after, Rodri clearly handled the ball inside his own box.

Even after a VAR check, it was not deemed an illegal offence and Guardiola’s side held on to claim all three points. Toffees boss Frank Lampard claimed that a ‘three-year-0ld could tell you that’s a penalty.’

Lampard wasn’t wrong and referee Paul Tierney was booed off by the Goodison faithful. In theory, VAR shouldn’t have been required as the handball was plainly obvious for all to see.

Nani Goal After Blatant Handball (2010/11)

During Man United’s glory years under the stewardship of Sir Alex Ferguson, referee Mark Clattenburg appeared to favour the Red Devils legend with a truly bizarre incident in the game against Tottenham at Old Trafford.

Portuguese winger Nani tried to bear down on goal and was apparently fouled by Younes Kaboul. The United player was convinced he was hauled down for a penalty and picked up the ball in protest.

However, Clattenberg for some reason allowed play to continue but goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes had picked up the ball and rolled it in front of him for what he thought was a Spurs free-kick.

It wasn’t. And Nani whilst still looking mildly confused proceeded to simply stroke the ball into the back of the net. The goal was given and the Lilywhites went on to lose 2-0.

Jan Vertonghen Offside Goal (2014/15)

During a relatively incident-free game between Tottenham and Sunderland ten years ago, Jan Vertonghen had a perfectly legal goal chalked off.

The Spurs defender had actually opened the scoring at White Hart Lane before Sebastian Larsson equalised with a stunning trademark free-kick.

Christian Eriksen restored the Lilywhites lead before the match officials dropped a huge clanger. In second-half stoppage-time, Black Cats goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon came up for a corner but the North Londoners counter-attacked.

Vertonghen was played in on goal and ed the ball into an empty net. Immediately, the assistant raised his flag and referee Chris Foy disallowed the effort. This despite Vertonghen receiving the ball in his own half! Where naturally, you cannot be ruled offside.

Orjan Nyland Goal-Line Technology (2019/20)

When COVID desecrated the Premier League schedule in 2020, many games were played throughout June and July in empty stadiums.

One such fixture was Aston Villa taking on Sheffield United on home soil. The following incident would have surely generated an uproar had ers been present.

Villa goalkeeper Orjan Nyland had clearly carried the ball over his line for what should have been a Blades opening goal. However, referee Michael Oliver didn’t see it cross over.

More notably, Oliver wasn’t alerted by the hawk-eye goal-line technology which typically prompts a match official in such a situation. The game finished 0-0 and Villa survived relegation by a single point.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain And Kieran Gibbs Mix Up (2013/14)

Andre Marriner is perhaps guilty of the worst Premier League referee decision of all time. He did so on Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger’s 1000th game for the club, too.

During the London Derby against rivals Chelsea, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handled a shot from Eden Hazard inside the penalty box. Marriner pointed to the spot.

However, instead of sending off Oxlade-Chamberlain, defender Kieran Gibbs was sent off in a bizarre case of mistaken identity. This despite Oxlade-Chamberlain itting it was he who was the guilty party.

Nonetheless, Marriner stuck with his decision and the Gunners went on to suffer a truly humiliating 6-0 thumping from their neighbours.