Michael Salisbury

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 and Championship.

Early and personal life Salisbury was born in Penwortham in 1985. His father, Graham, is a former referee who retired at the end of the 2020–21 season, after a 21-year career as an EFL referee.

Salisbury has two children.

Career Salisbury is a former PE teacher and previously taught at Parklands High School. His father retired on the final day of the 2020–21 season, having officiated 588 Football League games, Salisbury began refereeing in the Vanarama National League in the 2015–16 season before being promoted to League 2 the following season.

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.

On 29 June 2020, Salisbury refereed the 2020 EFL League Two play-off final in Northampton Town's 4–0 win over Exeter City.

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. 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.

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. PGMOL subsequently offered an apology to Brighton, and Salisbury was dropped from the subsequent Premier League fixtures.

On 14 August 2023, Salisbury was the VAR official for a Manchester United's 1–0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. 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. 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.

On 27 November 2023, Salisbury refereed Fulham's 3–2 win over Wolves at Craven Cottage, with Salisbury awarding three penalties during the match. 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. 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. On 31 August 2025, he was dropped from his VAR duties for a match between Liverpool and Arsenal. It came after when Sailsbury played a controversial role of recommending referee Robert Jones to disallow a goal from Fulham’s Josh King in the 21st minute.The decision was widely condemned by pundits including Stuart Pearce, Jamie Carragher and Rio Ferdinand.

On 17 May 2026, Salisbury refereed Manchester United's 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford. In the 54th minute, a ball played into the Nottingham Forest penalty box hit Manchester United's striker, Brian Mbeumo's, hand. Mbeumo then shot at goal, which was saved and then subsequently scored by Manchester United winger, Matheus Cunha. VAR strongly advised Salisbury to overturn the goal, saying that the handball rendered the subsequent goal illegal. However, after 3 minutes of deliberation, Salisbury did not overturn the goal which led to commentator Gary Neville to call his decision "an absolute shocker" and "ridiculous". The on-pitch explanation given by Salisbury was that the accidental nature of the handball meant that the goal was valid. The PGMO later admitted the goal should not have been given. . Salisbury was not chosen to referee any more Premier League games that season, with speculation it was due to this event.

List of refereed domestic finals