Michael Salisbury (born 1985) is an English professional football referee and former teacher who belongs to the Select Group of Referees in England and officiates in the Premier League.
| Full name | Michael Salisbury | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
1985 (age 38–39) Penwortham, Lancashire, England | ||
| Other occupation | Teacher | ||
| Domestic | |||
| Years | League | Role | |
| 2015–16 | National League | Referee | |
| 2016–21 | English Football League | Referee | |
| 2021– |
 Premier League | Referee | |
Early and personal life
editSalisbury was born in Penwortham in 1985.[1][2] His father, Graham, is a former referee who had a 21-year career as an EFL referee.[3][4][5]
Salisbury has two children.[6]
Career
editSalisbury is a former PE teacher[7] and previously taught at Parklands High School.[4]
Refereeing
editSalisbury was introduced to refereeing by his father, Graham, and began his refereeing career in 2001 in the local leagues in Preston.[8] His father retired on the final day of the 2020–21 season, having officiated 588 Football League games,[7] and Salisbury was his fourth official for the game.[8]
Salisbury was involved in his first professional game in 2010 as an Assistant Referee in the EFL.[9] Salisbury began refereeing in the Vanarama National League in the 2015–16 season before being promoted to League 2 the following season.[10][11]
Salisbury was the reserve assistant referee for the 2016 FA Cup final which took place between Crystal Palace and Manchester United on 21 May 2016.[12]
On 29 June 2020, Salisbury refereed the 2020 EFL League Two play-off final in Northampton Town's 4–0 win over Exeter City.[13][14]
On 3 May 2021, Salisbury refereed the 2020 FA Vase final between Consett A.F.C. and Hebburn Town which was a 3–2 win for Hebburn Town.[15]
Premier League (2021–present)
editSalisbury was promoted to the Premier League as a Referee ahead of the 2021–22 season, having previously been an assistant referee in the league.[8] His first Premier League game in charge was Aston Villa's 2–1 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.[16][17] Both clubs were subsequently charged with misconduct by the FA after both sets of players, unhappy with decisions made by Salisbury in the second half, and failed to conduct themselves in an orderly fashion.[18][19]
On 8 April 2023, Salisbury was the VAR official for a Brighton & Hove Albion's 2–1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur and failed to intervene after referee Stuart Attwell missed a trip by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg on Kaoru Mitoma in the penalty area when the score was 1–1.[20] PGMOL subsequently offered an apology to Brighton, and Salisbury was dropped from the subsequent Premier League fixtures.[21][22][23]
On 14 August 2023, Salisbury was the VAR official for a Manchester United's 1–0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.[24][25] Manchester United Goalkeeper André Onana collided with Wolves forward Sasa Kalajdzic in the penalty area during stoppage time and the on-field referee, Simon Hooper, did not award the penalty and Salisbury failed to intervene and award the penalty.[26][27] PGMOL apologised to Wolves Manager Gary O'Neil after the game, and Salisbury along with Hooper and the Assistant VAR were dropped for the subsequent Premier League fixtures.[27][28]
On 27 November 2023, Salisbury refereed Fulham's 3–2 win over Wolves at Craven Cottage, with Salisbury awarding three penalties during the match.[29] Wolves Manager Gary O'Neil said after the game that Salisbury admitted that Fulham's first penalty should have been overturned, with O'Neil also stating that he disputed with Salisbury over whether Carlos Vinícius should have been sent off for a headbutt.[30][31] The Premier League's Independent Key Match Incidents Panel found that Salisbury had made two errors during the match in awarding the first penalty to Fulham and not sending Vinícius off.[32]
List of refereed domestic finals
edit| 2020 EFL League Two play-off final[13] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Match | Score | Venue |
| 29 June 2020 | Exeter City – Northampton Town | 0–4 | Wembley Stadium |
| 2020 FA Vase final[15] | |||
| Date | Match | Venue | |
| 3 May 2021 | Consett – Hebburn Town | 2–3 | Wembley Stadium |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Premier League Referees: PL Officials For 23/24 Season". Jobs In Football.
- ^ "Michael Salisbury - Referee | BDFutbol". www.bdfutbol.com.
- ^ "Every referee currently working in the Premier League". OneFootball. 20 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Preston official Michael Salisbury will referee in Premier League next season". Lancashire Evening Post. 22 June 2021.
- ^ "Meet the Referee - Michael Salisbury". SCFC2 Swansea City Fans Website. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ "Trio of Lancashire match officials making the step up". Lancashire Evening Post. 18 August 2020.
- ^ a b "Salisbury to referee Palace clash". Newcastle United Football Club. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ a b c "Four new referees for 2021/22 Premier League". www.premierleague.com. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ "Michael Salisbury to take charge of Southampton vs Brentford". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Michael Salisbury to take charge at Luton Town on Saturday". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ "Referee announced for Luton Town's Premier League trip to Fulham". Luton Today. 12 September 2023.
- ^ Association, The Football. "Mark Clattenburg to referee the 2016 Emirates FA Cup Final". www.thefa.com. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ a b Ames, Nick (29 June 2020). "Northampton overpower Exeter to clinch promotion to League One". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Northampton ease past Exeter in play-off final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Hebburn clinch FA Vase with late winner". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ Halsey, Mark (29 November 2021). "Michael Salisbury will learn to give himself more time after error in Aston Villa's win over Crystal Palace, says Mark Halsey". CaughtOffside.
- ^ Aarons, Ed (27 November 2021). "Aston Villa overcome Crystal Palace to extend Steven Gerrard's fine start". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Villa and Palace charged by FA". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Crystal Palace and Aston Villa charged by FA over player conduct in Premier League clash". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ Rampling, Ali. "VAR who denied Brighton penalty dropped for weekend fixtures". The Athletic. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Son scores landmark goal as Spurs beat Brighton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ Naylor, Andy. "Brighton receive apology after being denied penalty at Tottenham". The Athletic. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Another Premier League referee punished! Michael Salisbury suspended for controversial penalty decision in Tottenham vs Brighton match | Goal.com UK". www.goal.com. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Varane heads winner as Man Utd edge out Wolves". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Man Utd 1-0 Wolves: Officials apologise for error". BBC Sport. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ Whittell, Martin Hardy, Ian (5 April 2024). "Man United vs Wolves: Referees behind VAR error stood down". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Ref, VAR off Prem duty after Onana penalty error". ESPN.com. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ Burt, Jason (15 August 2023). "Referee and VARs who missed Andre Onana red card are stood down". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Willian penalty for Fulham sinks Wolves amid VAR controversy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "O'Neil | 'VAR is not helping' | Men's First-Team | News". Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Wolves boss fumes over 'seven points' lost to VAR". ESPN.com. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Panel backs VAR over Wolves controversy". ESPN.com. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2024.