Michael Oliver banned from refereeing game, suspension call, Liverpool red card backlash

Michael Oliver banned from refereeing game, suspension call, Liverpool red card backlash

Michael Oliver has been at the centre of several high-profile incidents recently, leaving both Arsenal and Liverpool fans fuming.

Liverpool weren’t happy with Michael Oliver’s handling of the Merseyside derby

Banned fixture

Oliver, a Newcastle fan, will never oversee Magpies fixtures. Despite being considered one of the best officials in the Premier League, the 39-year-old avoids games involving his boyhood team to prevent any allegations of bias.

Speaking in an interview with the Daily Mail, he said: “We have to declare if we have an allegiance to any club or if a family member works at a club.”

He also cannot oversee matches involving the Magpies’ bitter rivals, Sunderland, for “obvious reasons”. He added: “If Newcastle needed a point to survive and the team they were fighting to get above was, say, Villa, I couldn’t referee Villa’s game either. I wouldn’t want to. It’s not worth the hassle.”

Myles Lewis-Skelly backlash

Oliver has had an eventful year so far. He controversially sent off Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly for a foul on Wolves’ Matt Doherty, sparking outrage and causing Oliver and his family to become targets of abhorrent online abuse.

The red card was subsequently overturned on appeal and former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett suggested that Oliver should be given a break from action as a result.

Arsenal players fume at Oliver following Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card at Wolves

Speaking on talkSPORT, the ex-ref, 80, said: “I’d be admitting that this is a major error that you don’t expect the alleged number one referee to make. He’s on top of the incident.

“I think he’s too close and so I think he requires operational advice. I’d be saying to Michael Oliver, I think you need a rest and I think you’re not going to see another game in the Premier League for a couple of weeks.”

The Merseyside derby was filled with goals, controversy and drama that left Liverpool fuming. The match ended in a 2-2 draw thanks to James Tarkowski’s 98th-minute equaliser for Everton, but much of the spotlight was on referee Michael Oliver’s decisions.

The final derby at Goodison Park saw Curtis Jones and Abdoulaye Doucoure sent off after the final whistle, followed by Reds head Arne Slot and his assistant, Sipke Hulshoff. Both clubs and Slot have since been charged by the FA.