‘Michael Oliver situation is out of control’ after Arsenal bust-up
Premier League clubs have a responsibility to not fuel abuse towards referees after threats were made against Michael Oliver following his decision to send off Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly against Wolves.
That is the view of finance expert Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the situation surrounding the official got “out of control” following the decision.
Oliver was at the centre of much controversy after he handed Lewis-Skelly a red card in Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Wolves on 25 January, with the decision later overturned on appeal.
It was revealed last week police were investigating “threats and abuse” directed at the official in the aftermath of the game at Molineux.
Speaking on The Overlap on 30 January, Gary Neville accused Mikel Arteta of fueling Arsenal fans’ growing hostility towards referees.
Arsenal fans upset after Gary Neville comments
Borson admitted there is no easy way to fix the problem as it’s a societal issue.
“It seems to be getting a little bit out of control,” Borson told Football Insider.
“He clearly made a poor decision. Anybody that saw it live or watched it afterwards, 95 per cent of people would say that the decision was very harsh at the very least.
“Most people would say it was just wrong, so it was overturned. It could have had an impact, but the problem is that social media is causing a problem for referees, decisions and abuse.
“I’m not really sure there is any fix. It’s a societal issue, isn’t it? We all take it far too seriously, but it’s only football at the end of the day. It’s not really logical that you would send a death threat to a referee’s young daughter.
“The world has gone slightly bonkers, but it was a bad decision. We all accept that it was a bad decision. I don’t know what you do about it.
“How do you fix that? There is no easy way. You have got anonymous people on social media firing off ridiculous stuff.
“Arsenal fans have been very upset that Gary Neville said similar, but I do think the clubs have a responsibility to turn the volume down on this and not fan the flames following talk about conspiracies, bribery and ridiculous notions like that.
“He just made a mistake, it’s not that complicated.”
In other news, “really lucky” Bernardo Silva escaped after Arsenal kick.
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