The petition to ban referee Anthony Taylor after Chelsea vs Liverpool game rages on as the Blues star champions cause

The Blues were angered by Anthony Taylor’s decision to hand over a red card to Reece James after he handled the ball on the line to block Liverpool Sadio Mane’s goal-bound effort from a close range.

Such as Chelsea’s anger heightens so is the petition to ban Taylor from officiating Chelsea’s subsequent matches which has been signed by nearly 50,000 people with the number expected to rise even further in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s defender Marcos Alonso has decided to champion the petition for a ban for Taylor by liking the post on Instagram

Similarly, the Stamford Bridge club’s boss Thomas Tuchel and captain Cesar Azpilicueta had criticised the decision after the 1-1 draw at Anfield.

I don’t know anymore what happens and what does not happen. We were just a bit worried that he was just looking at a photo and the photo gives a clear image that it’s a red card and a penalty,’ Tuchel had told Sky Sports.

‘For me it was too quick, I would have wished for a longer check and to see the whole situation, where it gets deflected.

The petition calling for Anthony Taylor to be banned has reached nearly 50,000 signatures (Instagram)

‘I can remember referees explaining to us, if it’s a deflection and it’s not a very unnatural arm position, then it’s not a penalty.’

Chelsea’s Azpilicueta had also accused Taylor of basing his decision off a single replay.

When asked for his verdict about James’ red card after the game, Azpilicueta replied: ‘Harsh. I feel sorry for Reece.

‘The referee got advice from VAR to give it. He went to the screen to watch one replay

‘We got the double punishment, red card and a penalty – and two yellow cards in the same action. We were angry. But you have to calm down and find a way to fight together as a team. I think the team fought and maybe we had the best two chances in the second half.