Nuno Espirito Santo to fume as Anthony Taylor appointed referee for West Ham vs Leeds United
Nuno Espirito Santo will want everything to go West Ham United’s way in the build-up to facing Leeds on the final day of the season, but he may not get that with Anthony Taylor refereeing.
The Irons must defeat Daniel Farke’s side to have any chance of staying up, but their future does not lie in their own destiny.
Nuno will require some assistance from former West Ham manager David Moyes, with the only route to safety being a Hammers and Everton win this weekend.
The Toffees have nothing to play for, which may be a brutal blow in the end for the E20 outfit and certainly bad news for the manager.
However, ahead of West Ham’s clash against Leeds, Nuno will have his own issues to worry about with the latest referee appointment.
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What is the full officials lineup for West Ham vs Leeds?
Anthony Taylor will take the centre of the pitch and oversee the action at London Stadium this weekend, as per the Premier League.
This will be the referee’s 43rd West Ham fixture, and he will be joined by fellow officials as listed in the table below.
| Officials for West Ham vs Leeds | Role |
| Anthony Taylor | Referee |
| Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn | Assistants |
| Steve Martin | Fourth official |
| John Brooks | VAR |
| Dan Robathan | Assistant VAR |
When it comes to West Ham’s luck in games with Taylor overseeing the fixture, their results are quite mixed.
The Irons have won just 17 games out of 42, drawing six and losing 19. A negative record is certainly not ideal for the Hammers, who have just a 40 per cent win rate with Taylor.
Additionally, this season, West Ham have lost both fixtures where Taylor was the referee – 2-3 loss versus Aston Villa and a 3-2 loss versus Chelsea.
What is Nuno Espirito Santo’s history with Anthony Taylor?
Nuno has quite the history with Taylor, having been awarded a three-match ban
Taylor was also the cause of a post-match rant, where the Portuguese called upon officials to improve after his Nottingham Forest side were denied three penalty claims in a 2-0 defeat to Everton in 2024.
Nuno stated: “They should feel responsible for it because there have been a lot of mistakes, not only in our games. You can see things are not well. What we ask for is improvement.”
Now, with Taylor set to take charge of what is one of the most important games in the Hammers’ most recent history, the 52-year-old may not be best pleased with the Premier League.
Hopefully the referee will not end up being the centre of attention, and the Irons can get the job done on their end without controversy.
West Ham’s record versus Leeds brings the Irons fanbase confidence on it’s own.