After the PGMOL were forced to condemn the actions of Arsenal fans threatening referee Michael Oliver, the 39-year-old has been appointed the Merseyside derby.
Oliver and his family were subject to vile threats in the aftermath of Arsenal defender Myles Lewis-Skelly’s soft red card in their 1-0 win at Wolves on Saturday.
While it was certainly a questionable decision, even with Lewis-Skelly’s studs colliding with Matt Doherty’s ankle, the scale of the uproar faced afterwards was “appalling.”
That was the statement from the PGMOL, who insisted: “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.”
With the situation under investigation the decision has, perhaps wisely, been taken to not involve Oliver in the most high-profile game of the upcoming Premier League weekend – Arsenal vs. Man City on Sunday.
Instead, he will referee Ipswich vs. Southampton on Saturday, while the Premier League have confirmed he will also be in charge of Everton vs. Liverpool on February 12.
Oliver’s team of officials for the final Goodison Park derby will be assistants Stuart Burt and James Mainwaring, fourth official Tony Harrington, VAR Chris Kavanagh and assistant VAR Eddie Smart.
It will be the 65th time he has refereed a Liverpool fixture and his fourth in charge of the Merseyside derby – each of the previous three, dating back as far as 2013, have been draws.
His most recent was the 2-2 at Goodison Park in October 2020, which saw Jordan Pickford escape punishment for a horrific challenge that ruptured Virgil van Dijk‘s ACL.
That was less the fault of Oliver and more that of the VAR that day, David Coote.
• READ: Coote gives ‘apology’ interview to the S*n after “not sober” Liverpool jibes
Meanwhile Darren England, the official at the heart of the Luis Diaz VAR farce at Tottenham last season, has been appointed referee for Bournemouth vs. Liverpool this weekend.
John Brooks and Dan Cook – England’s assistant that day in north London – will be on VAR duty, with Akil Howson and Steve Meredith linesmen and Steve Martin fourth official.
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