by The body of referees, PGMOL, said that he was dismayed by “odious abuses”, including death threats, Michael Oliver and his family received after his controversial decision to send Myles Lewis-Skelly to victory 1 -0 from Arsenal to Wolves.
PGMOL said they had involved the police after Oliver and his young children were subjected to various threats following Saturday match in Molinine. Riccardo Calafiori scored the only goal after Wolves midfielder João Gomes received a second yellow card for a bad challenge on Jurriën Timber.
Oliver amazed the two teams by giving Lewis-Skelly a red card in the first half with regard to a cynical challenge on the defender of Wolves Matt Doherty. The Premier League Center Center described the incident as a “serious game” and said that the Var, Darren England, had verified and confirmed the referee’s decision.
Former PGMOL chief, Keith Hackett, called for oliver to withdraw after the fury. “I would say to Michael Oliver, I think you need a rest and I think you will not see another match in the Premier League for a few weeks,” Hackett told Talksport.
On Sunday, a PGMOL statement read: “We are dismayed by threats and abuses directed against Michael Oliver after the Wolverhampton Wanderers match against Arsenal. No civil servant should be subject to any form of abuse, not to mention the odious attacks aimed at Michael and his family in the last 24 hours.
“The police are aware and a number of surveys have started. We support Michael and all those affected, and are determined to fight against this unacceptable behavior. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that a match manager has been forced to deal with threats lately. »»
The director of Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, refused to criticize Oliver directly but bubbed the decision to send the adolescent. “I am absolutely furious,” he said. Arteta also clearly indicated that he expects the decision to be canceled by the football association.
“If we can’t really change what happened [in the game]I hope at least it will be just for the team, for the player and everyone will happen in the coming weeks. I think it’s so obvious, maybe we don’t even need to [appeal]. “”
Oliver is widely considered one of the best leaders of the Premier League and was selected for referee at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The former striker of England Alan Shearer described the call on Saturday to send Lewis-Skelly, 18, “one of the worst decisions that I have seen for a long time”.
