ZHAKE
Michael Oliver has not been given any Premier League games to officiate this weekend.
The PGMOL have not commented on the decision but the announcement of the match officials for the upcoming round of fixtures has come on the same day the FA released their written reasons for punishment against Liverpool and Everton for the Merseyside derby last month.
Arne Slot is serving a two-match ban for comments made to Oliver after the Reds dropped two points at Goodison Park thanks to a late equaliser by Toffees star James Tarkowski.
Everton were fined £50,000 for failing to control their players when Abdoulaye Doucoure’s celebrations in front of the Liverpool fans at Goodison sparked a mass brawl.
Oliver dropped from Premier League matches after latest controversy
Oliver, who Liverpool manager Slot called a “disgrace” before his red card at Goodison Park, was also involved in controversy at the weekend when he initially failed to send off Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts for a horrific challenge on Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta in the FA Cup.
He is set to referee Bayern Munich versus Bayern Leverkusen in the Champions League round-of-16 on Wednesday night.
Former PGMOL general manager Keith Hackett doesn’t believe Oliver has been dropped from his Premier League duties this weekend due to recent controversies.
Oliver taken out of line of fire after non-stop incidents
While there’s been no official word from the PGMOL about Oliver being left out of this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures, it’s fairly obvious that the experienced referee is being taken out of the line of fire after recent developments.
On Saturday, Oliver didn’t issue a straight red card for Millwall goalkeeper Roberts until after VAR intervention made him realise that Mateta was kicked in the head in a reckless, endangering manner.
Oliver taken out of line of fire after non-stop incidents
While there’s been no official word from the PGMOL about Oliver being left out of this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures, it’s fairly obvious that the experienced referee is being taken out of the line of fire after recent developments.
On Saturday, Oliver didn’t issue a straight red card for Millwall goalkeeper Roberts until after VAR intervention made him realise that Mateta was kicked in the head in a reckless, endangering manner.
Qudus Salihu
ZHAKE