Taylor is not on social media because she doesn’t want to “waste time” reading negative comments or opinions.
Last year, the Premier League launched an investigation following online abuse directed at the official.
“If you’re continually told you’re not very good, whether by the media, experts or even former officials, then people’s mental health could suffer,” he says.
“The football culture in general is: ‘we have to win this game at all costs.’
“The lengths that people go to post-game with a lot of things now to spread false narratives, spread malicious conspiracy theories… it creates a hugely negative environment for people to operate in.”
Taylor is also concerned about the treatment of referees in grassroots football, adding: “Every weekend you can go to any local park across the UK and you can see a parent on the sidelines verbally abusing a young referee. That’s not a conducive environment for people to improve. I don’t understand how people think that’s acceptable.”
When asked if it is fair for senior referees to expect a high level of scrutiny given what may be at stake on the field, Taylor says: “I wouldn’t be opposed to there being scrutiny.”
But he adds: “I’m not saying you shouldn’t expect scrutiny, but everyone who watches football always sees a game through the eyes of their team. And the outcome of a football match and the culmination of a football season are multi-faceted.
“It doesn’t depend on an official match decision. It doesn’t depend on a player missing a penalty in a match. It doesn’t depend on a coach making a tactical error during a match. Playing more than 38 matches…
“So you say that the argument that one decision has cost someone their entire season… is simply not true because there will be many other incidents in a game or during that season where the results of games have been affected.
“What I’m saying is that there can be scrutiny and criticism, but it’s rarely balanced. Nobody really talks much about the positive side of things these days either.”
Referees’ body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has a team of psychologists responsible for the mental wellbeing of referees and works with mental health charity Mind.