PGMOL chief Howard Webb accepts Michael Oliver's decision to send Myles Lewis-Skelly off at Wolves was wrong but not 'a really horrendous call'.
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Oliver controversially sent Lewis-Skelly offWebb accepts decision was wrongInsists it was not 'a horrendous call'Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
The decision to give Lewis-Skelly a red card for a foul on Matt Doherty at Molineux last month caused huge controversy, with the 18-year-old's ban eventually being overturned. VAR failed to reverse the decision at the time and Webb now accepts a red was excessive.
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Oliver and his family received death threats in the days after the game, with PGMOL condemning the abuse directed at the official. Arsenal have also subsequently been fined £65,000 for their players' reaction to the decision, when nine players surrounded Oliver.
WHAT WEBB SAID
Speaking on , Webb said: "From the outset, we would prefer a yellow card in this situation. Clearly the referee on the day felt he saw the player moving in towards an opponent without any ability or intention of playing the ball – with the intention of stopping the opponent. The referee felt it was serious foul play, the VAR checked the footage to see if the call was clearly and obviously wrong and he felt it wasn't – seeing that the contact was quite high up on the leg. But we know that for serious foul play, we need excessive force or brutality and what we see here is that high contact [just] glancing and coming off the leg quite quickly. I've heard this described as a really horrendous officiating decision. It's not! I understand why the referee saw this on the day as a serious foul-play action."
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR OLIVER?
Oliver has managed two Premier League matches since the game a Wolves, officiating Ipswich vs Southampton before returning to the highest calibre of match by taking charge of Everton vs Liverpool. The 39-year-old is still considered among the division's best referees and is likely to be assigned to some of the biggest games between now and the end of the season.
