Former referees' chief Keith Hackett believes appointing Manchester-born official Anthony Taylor for Manchester United's Premier League trip to Liverpool could present a "risk to his personal safety and that of his family."
Taylor, who was born six miles away from Old Trafford in Wythenshawe and is a fan of National League North side Altrincham, will take charge at Anfield with United boss Jose Mourinho claiming it will be "difficult for him to have a very good performance."
Now Hackett, who last week said it was "grossly unfair" to give the game to Taylor, has gone a step further by saying an error could lead to him being targetted after the match.
"I do not understand why Anthony Taylor has been given the Liverpool game against Manchester United and I do not think he should be doing it," Hackett wrote in his column for the Daily Telegraph. "There is a risk to his personal safety and that of his family after the game if something was to go wrong. That is not right.
"The fact he lives so close to Old Trafford means he has been put under unnecessary pressure and it could have been avoided if the game had been given to another referee from the Select Group.
"There are examples of referees being threatened in the past, with David Elleray having a panic button installed and Howard Webb, after a penalty kick award against Poland, had to have increased security for his family.
"As far as I am concerned, though, he should have been taken off the game. If you look back, there have been many occasions when referees were not appointed to officiate teams involving the city where they lived. It is not that long ago when Mike Dean was taken off the FA Cup final involving Liverpool because he lived in the Wirral and that was deemed to be too close to Anfield.
"This whole situation could have been avoided if the PGMOL had communicated that its criteria for appointing had changed from a long-standing tradition. It was probably happy with Anthony's performances when he has officiated at Old Trafford and the Etihad in recent months. However, Liverpool versus United is very different. The passion of the fans creates a real atmosphere with every challenge questioned."
Mourinho could yet face an FA charge for commenting on the appointment of a referee. In 2013, former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers questioned why Lee Mason, who is from Bolton, refereed his side's 2-1 loss to Manchester City. Rodgers was ultimately fined £8,000 for his comments.
Last season referee Kevin Friend, who has acknowledged he is a Leicester fan, was scheduled to officiate title rivals Tottenham's visit to Stoke but was replaced after a social media campaign.