Abuse directed at Premier League referee Michael Oliver over the weekend has been reported to the police.
A statement from the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) the body responsible for refereeing appointments in English football slammed the vile threats aimed at whistler Oliver, who has been a top flight official for 15 years. In a statement published on X, the PGMOL said: “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. We will continue to support all investigations.
The Gunners were left seething when youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly was instantly dismissed after stopping a Wolves counter-attack by chopping down Matt Doherty on the edge of the hosts’ box. The PGMOL stood by referee Oliver’s decision to send off the Arsenal man, with their hopes of successfully appealing the controversial red card appearing over after the refereeing body came out publicly to defend Oliver’s performance at Molineux.
After the match Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told BBC’s Match of the Day that the decision was “so obvious that today you don’t need my words. I am absolutely fuming but I leave it with you. Because it is that obvious, I don’t think my words are going to help.” Reacting on the show, pundit Alan Shearer, said the sending off was “one of the worst decisions I’ve seen in a long time”.