Gordon Alexander TaylorOBE (born 28 December 1944) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger. He was chief executive of the English footballers' trades union, the Professional Footballers' Association, for over 40 years, between 1981 and 2021.[3] In March 2019 it was reported that he was to stand aside upon completion of a "full and open review" into the PFA's finances (presented at its 2019 AGM) along with its entire management committee and chairman Ben Purkiss.[4] He was reputed to be the highest paid union official in the world.[5] The 2020 PFA AGM is scheduled for 26 November, and is expected to appoint four non-executive directors.[6] In September 2020 the chair of the all party group on gambling, Carolyn Harris[7] voiced her reservations on gambling related harm exampled by the Union's CEO.[8] On the 1 June 2021, Taylor was formally replaced as CEO, retaining a temporary transitional advisory role to his successor.[9]
His mobile phone messages were allegedly hacked by a private investigator employed by the News of the World newspaper. The Guardian reported that News International (the owner of the News of the World) paid Taylor £700,000 in legal costs and damages in exchange for a confidentiality agreement barring him from speaking about the case.[14]
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"Gordon Taylor". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
^ ab"Ils font le foot anglais" [They make English football]. France Football (in French). 28 September 2007. Le syndicaliste le mieux payé au monde (1,6 M€ annuels !). ... Diplômé en économie, membre du comité du football de la FIFA, Taylor est un interlocuteur clé des instances dirigeantes du football anglais. [The best-paid union man in the football world (€1.6 million a year!). ... A graduate economist, member of FIFA's football committee, Taylor is a key contact for the powers-that-be of English football.