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Topics: Premier League, Arsenal, VAR, Newcastle United, Sunderland, Michael Oliver, Football
Ben McCrum
Topics: Premier League, Arsenal, VAR, Newcastle United, Sunderland, Michael Oliver, Football
Premier League referee Michael Oliver has revealed the English fixtures he isn't allowed to officiate.
On Saturday, long-serving Premier League referee Oliver found himself under fire after he controversially sent off Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly during the match against Wolves.
The Arsenal youngster was shown a red card after his last-ditch challenge on Matt Doherty was deemed to be serious foul play, frustrating fans as the Wolves defender was barely out of his own penalty area.
Although some Arsenal fans took things too far when asking him to be removed from officiating duties on their future matches, Oliver has revealed that there actually are some games in England that he cannot work on.
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The 39-year-old, who is an avid fan of Newcastle United, is obviously banned from working on all matches involving the Geordie club in order to avoid him making any biased decisions.
But, Newcastle games aren't the only matches that you won't say Oliver working on, after the English referee revealed that there are several other scenarios which would see him removed from duty.
Speaking to The Daily Mail in 2021, Oliver revealed that in a hypothetical situation where Newcastle were fighting in a relegation battle, he would also have to step aside for some matches.
He said: "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."
Presumably, this would also apply if Newcastle ever found themselves contesting the Premier League title, or were involved in a tightly fought battle for European football.
However, Oliver also revealed that there is another team that he is unable to officiate, regardless of the importance of the match or how it may or may not impact Newcastle.
Speaking about the process, he added: "We have to declare if we have an allegiance to any club or if a family member works at a club. You can't do any match involving that team, and I can't do Sunderland, either, for obvious reasons."
Former head of PGMOL, Keith Hackett, also shone a light on the process that Premier League deploys to remove bias, saying: "At the beginning of every season the referees' background information is audited.
"They complete a form that includes who they support, the history of if they've played the game and with the addresses where they are residing.
"That gives you a picture that comes into use when you're appointing. It's about ensuring, for example, you wouldn't appoint a Sheffield-based ref for a Sheffield team."