Michael Oliver won’t take charge of Arsenal vs Manchester City following threats to referee

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Michael Oliver during Arsenal's game against Chelsea earlier this season
Michael Oliver during Arsenal's game against Chelsea earlier this season (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Michael Oliver will reportedly not be chosen as the referee for the upcoming Premier League clash between Arsenal and Manchester City.

It seems Oliver has been deliberately moved to a different game due to concerns over his safety following threats to him and his family, according to the Times.

This follows Oliver sending off Arsenal left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly in a controversial incident last weekend when Mikel Arteta’s side won 1-0 away to Wolves.

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The Gunners were down to ten men for a decent chunk of the game, so things could have gone very differently for them after what almost everyone in football has agreed was a very bad call by Oliver.

Still, there can be absolutely no excuse for referees being made to feel unsafe taking charge of games involving a particular team, with the Times reporting that Oliver has required police protection after this latest incident.

Arsenal fans will surely feel it’s the right choice to move Michael Oliver

Referee Michael Oliver during the Man City vs Arsenal game earlier this season
Referee Michael Oliver during the Man City vs Arsenal game earlier this season (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Oliver obviously doesn’t deserve any threats to himself or his family, but from a purely footballing perspective it looks like the right decision not to have him in charge of an Arsenal game.

The 39-year-old also attracted controversy in other recent meetings between Man City and Arsenal, sending off Leandro Trossard at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season, and failing to send off Mateo Kovacic for a bad challenge at the Emirates Stadium last term.

While there is surely no conspiracy against Arsenal, no matter what some of their fans might say, it probably is fair to question Oliver’s standards as a referee, as he arguably has shown he’s not quite at the required level for such big games.

The Times report that Oliver will instead be taking charge of Ipswich against Southampton this weekend.

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9 Comments

  1. Oliver is potentially guilty of unconscious bias.

    No he doesn’t deserve to be abused, but sadly he has been ‘hung out to dry’ by PGMOL. They knew he had gone rogue with some of his past decisions, but choose not to pull him in.

    PGMOL are now trying to deflect the issue by directing it towards the abuse he has received – they still aren’t addressing the situation.

    In life we learn from our mistakes, PGMOL simply circle the wagons in another defiant stand.

    1. You put your finger on it. I beg to disagree though that his bias is unconscious. He shouldn’t be harassed for doing his job but when he throws caution to the winds and thinks he’s untouchable, infallible and unaccountable, he must be ready for the fallout. Indeed, the PGMOL sends that same signal to everybody. They cannot avoid the resentment from people for their arrogance.

    2. Exactly.
      Oliver’s attitude towards arsenal always has questionable mark.
      He hates arsenal for sure

    1. Yes, i support the view that he should be banned from officiating Arsenal matches for now. However, the biggest blame goes to PGMOL head Howard Webb for not standing up to acknowledging that Michael Oliver made an error in the decision to issue a red card. We all learn from mistakes. The PGMOL did not help Michael Oliver by trying to support an obvious error. Overall, nobody should be subject to abuse or treat in whatever form. That is not acceptable in sports and anywhere.

  2. “While there is surely no conspiracy against Arsenal, no matter what some of their fans might say,” continue deceiving yourself to make yourself better, it doesn’t change the facts. Your man, Michael, is a bare faced cheat and is biased towards Arsenal. The FA and PGMOL can act the ostrich and bury their heads for as long as they deem fit but eventually the truth will come out. Hopefully, the integrity of the league isn’t in tatters by the.

  3. “While there is surely no conspiracy against Arsenal, no matter what some of their fans might say…”

    You surely do not know that. Can’t rule out something fishy going on with all the evidence. While I do not condone the threats, it looks a lot like they are using that to defect from how bad it looks. There is at least a bias, knowingly or unknowingly.

    The PGMOL could have rescinded the red on their own but no, they doubled down to protect Oliver, and used the threats to remove him from the game when they should just remove him for his ‘incompetency’ and multiple errors against Arsenal. Can’t imagine they gave him this fixture in the first place smh

  4. It is clearly evident that the referees of the premier league are bias against Arsenal as they pose the greatest threat to the Northern clubs. Out of the 22 premier league referees NONE are from London .
    However 14 are from the Manchester/ Liverpool area and the only referees near London are from Bristol which is 100 miles from London and only 2 are from that area .
    Arsenal have been on the wrong side of the worst refereeing decisions ever over the last 5 seasons and this is because our Northern referees favour northern clubs . I will not list the long list of outrageous refereeing decisions made against Arsenal because it takes so long but what I will say is that it’s time to use referees from abroad in the premier league and all our northern referees take their business abroad in return . All we all want is a level playing field without the northern bias .

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