Referee Michael Oliver has not been appointed to a Premier League fixture this weekend after his decision to not initially send off Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts for a challenge that left Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta requiring 25 stitches.
Oliver has not been given a refereeing appointment for matchweek 28, which takes place between Saturday, March 8 and Monday, March 10, while he also is not on fourth official or video assistant referee (VAR) duty.
Advertisement
Sources at the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), speaking on the condition of anonymity, indicated that referee rotation is common in the Premier League and more noticeable when it involves high-profile officials. Oliver missing a Premier League gameweek comes with the 40-year-old taking charge of the Champions League fixture between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, an appointment which was confirmed earlier on Tuesday.
Oliver faced criticism after a dangerous challenge from Roberts during Saturday’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at Selhurst Park initially went unpunished. The Millwall goalkeeper had rushed from his goal and leapt in the air as he attempted to clear a bouncing ball and instead made contact with the side of Mateta’s face with his foot. Palace chairman Steve Parish described the challenge as “endangering a fellow professional, maybe even his life”.
(Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Play was stopped for several minutes as Mateta received treatment, and Oliver was referred to the pitch-side monitor by the VAR. He subsequently showed Roberts a red card.
Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett described the decision to not initially show Roberts a red card as “appalling”, speaking to Football Insider.
Palace confirmed later on Saturday that Mateta had been discharged from hospital after receiving specialist treatment on a “severe laceration” to his left ear.
Saturday’s fixture was the latest high-profile officiating incident Oliver has been involved in in recent weeks. He was in charge of the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park in February which ended in a mass altercation between both sets of players and red cards for Liverpool head coach Arne Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff, in addition to Curtis Jones and Abdoulaye Doucoure. Slot was handed a two-match touchline ban after accepting the subsequent Football Association (FA) charges.
In January, Arsenal won an appeal to have Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card overturned, after Oliver dismissed the 18-year-old for “serious foul play” for a challenge on Matt Doherty. The decision was checked and cleared by video assistant referee Darren England.
GO DEEPER
Making sense of Liam Roberts’ horror challenge on Jean-Philippe Mateta
Additional reporting: Philip Buckingham
(Top photo: Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
