PGMOL issue official statement after Newcastle United 'boost' - not the response Arsenal wanted

Oliver was the referee for Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday which saw Myles Lewis-Skelly shown a straight red card for a challenge on Matt Doherty in the first half.

The 18-year-old will now serve a three-match ban across all competitions, ruling him out of the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Newcastle next week. Lewis-Skelly will also miss the Premier League matches against Manchester City and Leicester City as a result.

The decision was subject to a VAR check which backed Oliver, deeming the challenge ‘serious foul play’.

The Premier League’s guidance on serious foul play is as follows: "High + Full + Forceful contact on ankle or above is considered dangerous = Red card.”

The decision left Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta ‘fuming’ and Oliver was subject to much criticism and threats on social media and beyond as a result. The referee’s affiliation with Newcastle was also brought up given The Magpies will now loosely benefit from Lewis-Skelly’s subsequent ban.

Newcastle take a 2-0 lead into the second leg at St James’ Park next Wednesday evening (8pm kick-off).

PGMOL issue statement

PGMOL have now hit back at the abuse directed at Oliver in an official statement.

“We are appalled by the threats and abuse directed at Michael Oliver following the Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal fixture,” the statement read.

“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.”

Who is Michael Oliver?

Oliver is one of England’s leading referees having officiated in the Premier League for the last 15 years. The 39-year-old was born in Ashington and is a Newcastle United supporter.

Officiating rules prevent Oliver from refereeing competitive Newcastle matches. He previously told The Daily Mail: “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."

While Oliver is unable to referee competitive Newcastle matches, he did officiate The Magpies’ 2-0 pre-season friendly win against Fiorentina at St James’ Park in August 2023.

Could Arsenal appeal the decision? Mikel Arteta responds

There is still a chance Lewis-Skelly could be available to feature for Arsenal at St James’ Park should the suspension be overturned.

When asked if Arsenal plan to appeal the sending-off, Arteta replied: "That's for the club to decide what is the best decision. It's that obvious that maybe we don't even need to [put in an appeal].

"He's really happy now that the team won and found a way to win it. He is very worried about what's coming next because he's strongly feeling that there was nothing to do with the action."