Michael Oliver torn to shreds by Arsenal fans after yet another red card for Manchester City

Referee Michael Oliver has come under the spotlight following yesterday’s controversial match between Manchester City and Arsenal, particularly over the red card shown to Leandro Trossard just before half-time.

Oliver came in for heavy criticism from many fans, even neutral spectators, for sending Trossard off for kicking the ball away, despite there being little time between the whistle and the Arsenal winger committing the foul.

After just five games, this is the second time an Arsenal player has received a second yellow card for kicking the ball, with Declan Rice also being sent off in the recent home draw against Brighton.

Considering Oliver was also the referee who let Mateo Kovacic off for a nasty foul at the Emirates Stadium last season, many Gooners are furious that he has been given the chance to officiate a match between these two clubs again…

This was last season. Same teams. Same referee. Two tackles that deserved a red card, but Howard Webb said Michael Oliver didn’t send Kovacic off because he didn’t want to overreact. Not a letter of the law. It was up to the referee not to overreact.

Lol Awesome https://t.co/pX9v5SkAIU

— Udy ? (@mykael_yuddy) September 23, 2024

Another referee ruining a big game with the main character syndrome. Enough with that.

— AFCAMDEN (@AFCAMDEN) September 22, 2024

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Arsenal were told by PGMOL that Mateo Kovacic was not sent off in the first half of last season because Michael Oliver “didn’t want to spoil the game”.

What then do we call what happened today? photo.twitter.com/KUyr1MjTDE

— Handson Mlambo (@Handson88) September 23, 2024

There was also a notable incident where Man City’s Jeremy Doku kicked the ball away, but he wasn’t punished in the same way as Trossard. Perhaps some AFC fans feel they are more than justified in raising their concerns.

In general, the standard of refereeing in the Premier League seems to be a lot lower than in the Champions League and other competitions. It is fair to say that we could have seen a much better game yesterday if Oliver had used a bit more common sense instead of being so quick to reach for his cards.