Michael Oliver abuse has left the PGMOL ‘appalled’ with the referee and his family being targeted by online abuse.
Michael Oliver and his family have received death threats after his controversial decision to send off Myles Lewis-Skelly in Arsenal’s 1-0 victory at Wolves.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the body that oversees referees, has expressed its disgust at the “abhorrent abuse.” Following Saturday’s game at Molineux, Oliver and his young children received a number of threats, according to PGMOL, which stated it had called the police. Following João Gomes’ second yellow card for a rough challenge on Jurriën Timber, Riccardo Calafiori scored the lone goal.
Lewis-Skelly’s first-half red card for what seemed to be a cynical attack on Wolves defender Matt Doherty startled both teams. Darren England, the VAR, verified the referee’s judgement and called the event “serious foul play,” according to the Premier League’s match centre.
The former head of PGMOL, Keith Hackett, called for Oliver to be stood down following the furore. “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,” Hackett told TalkSport.
A statement from PGMOL on Sunday read: “We are appalled by the threats and abuse directed at Michael Oliver following the Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal fixture. No official should be subject to any form of abuse, let alone the abhorrent attacks aimed at Michael and his family over the past 24 hours.
“The police are aware, and a number of investigations have commenced. We are supporting Michael, and all those affected, and are determined to tackle this unacceptable behaviour. Sadly, this is not the first time a match official has been forced to deal with threats in recent times.”
The Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, declined to criticise Oliver directly but seethed at the decision to send off the teenager. “I am absolutely fuming,” he said. Arteta also made it clear he expects the decision to be overturned by the Football Association.
“If we cannot change actually what happened [in the game], hopefully at least it will be fair for the team, for the player and everybody what is going to happen in the next few weeks. I think it’s that obvious, maybe we don’t even need to [appeal].”