Michael Oliver, fresh from his controversial performance on Saturday, was named the referee for Barcelona’s Champions League clash with Atalanta on Wednesday night.
Newcastle official sent Arsenal’s Miles Lewis-Skelly at Molineux for a challenge on Wolves’ in-form full-back Matt Doherty as he raced back from his own penalty area.
Oliver deemed the challenge to be “the wrong play”, and Var Darren backed England despite the challenge appearing to merit a yellow card at worst.
18 matches in one night 🤯
Wednesday 🍿#ucl pic.twitter.com/oqjimiwh2g
– UEFA Champions League (championsleague) January 27, 2025
Arteta smokes after the match
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was “smoking” after the match and expects the red card to be overturned without the club needing to appeal.
Meanwhile, BBC Pundit Alan Shearer called the decision “one of the worst I’ve seen for a long time”.
The former England captain said: “As a referee, you can make mistakes on the pitch, you may see something that is not right.
“How on earth, Darren England, Farr, thought the referee had got that right and there was no need to send him to the screen.
“One of the worst decisions I’ve seen in a long time.
I can’t see what Farr is thinking and tell him to follow Michael Oliver’s decision.
“No wonder it is criticized by so many people.”
Abuse Oliver condemned
Referees body PGMOL issued a statement last night condemning the abuse aimed at Oliver and his family following the game at Molineux.
pgmol statement ⬇ pic.twitter.com/go2gvnszfk
-PGMOL (fa_pgmol) January 26, 2025
It read: “We are made aware of the threats and abuse directed at Michael Oliver in the wake of the Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal fixture. No official should be subjected to any form of abuse, let alone the hateful attacks targeted at Michael and his family over the past 24 hours.
“Police are aware, and a number of investigations have been launched. We support Michael, and all those affected, and are determined to tackle this unacceptable behaviour. Sadly, this is not the first time a match official has had to deal with recent threats.”
Oliver heads to Catalonia
Despite the fury of the weekend, Oliver is still considered one of the top officials in the Premier League and will take charge of the plum tie in midweek.
England will be the VAR assistant to JARRED GILLETT for the same match.
Barca has already advanced to the 16-stage round automatically but Atalanta’s fate has yet to be decided.
The Europa League winners sit seventh in the table, but a point ahead of six teams.
Ninth-placed Aston Villa could be the team to capitalize on any Atalanta slip up while hosting Celtic at Villa Park.
https://www.101greatgoals.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/shutterstock_1563797191-2-2.jpg
Source link