Fans left divided over new Monday Night Football segment after seeing guest as one 'switches off TV'

Fans have been left divided after Sky Sports debuted a new Monday Night Football segment ahead of Crystal Palace versus Nottingham Forest.

Forest travel to Selhurst Park in search of a vital three points to maintain their Champions League qualification challenge.

Palace, meanwhile, still have a small chance of qualifying for the Conference League, but would need to finish eighth as well as hoping Manchester City win the FA Cup and for several other results to go in their favour.

Ahead of the match, Sky Sports opened Monday Night Football in a different way to what fans are used to - and it has caused some controversy.

In the first half an hour, Premier League referee Anthony Taylor was the special guest, with the Altrincham supporter talking through the ins and outs of officiating at the top level.

Taylor also touched upon the abuse that officials are receiving on social media, and how it is becoming 'harder' to deal with.

😯 "The level of scrutiny just keeps on increasing."
❌ "You have to try and block out all of the noise."

Anthony Taylor reflects on the level of abuse referees face on a weekly basis. pic.twitter.com/oemFgxkeK8

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 5, 2025

And he analysed some of his own decisions in Manchester United's 4-3 defeat to Brentford on Sunday.

Taylor allowed play to continue following an injury to Matthijs de Ligt, with Brentford going on to score at the end of the move.

Referees are only obliged to stop play in case of a head injury or serious injury, though Taylor admitted that as De Ligt was clearly not suffering from a head injury - and was sat up and requesting treatment - he decided not to stop the game.

After half an hour of the programme, Taylor was replaced by Everton defender James Tarkowski for the rest of the show.

But while some praised Taylor's appearance - given that it is rare to hear from active professional referees in the media - others were less happy.

Taking to Twitter, one fan wrote: "I wish we'd stop platforming these referees as if they're celebrities. Doesn't help us as viewers and it definitely doesn't help them as referees."

A second said: "Why has Anthony Taylor got a 30 minute segment on MNF?"

While a third bluntly stated: "Never turned off so quickly."

But a fourth countered: "It's great to see a current ref, Anthony Taylor, one of our best, if not the best, on as a guest, talking through and explaining his decisions this season."

And a fifth wrote: "Well done on having Anthony Taylor on... more [referees] please!!"