‘Michael Oliver to apologise over Brighton controversy’ – Keith Hackett
Keith Hackett believes that Michael Oliver will apologise to Brighton after he got in the way of play during their defeat against Crystal Palace on Saturday (14 December).
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former PGMOL chief, ex-FIFA, and Premier League referee believes that Oliver was “caught out of position.”
The experienced referee prevented Carlos Baleba from tackling Michael Eze in the first half between two corners for Palace, with the second one leading to Trevoh Chalobah opening the scoring.
Brighton went on to lose the game 3-0 as their run without a win was extended to four games, but Fabian Hurzeler was furious with the Premier League official for his role in the first goal.
Michael Oliver will say sorry to Brighton for his error
Hackett told Football Insider, “There’s nobody who owns the space on a football field.
“The referee will apologise, as referees we try to get out of the way, the old control path and the movement.
“Michael Oliver is one of the most experienced and fittest referees, you might get this from a referee coming through, a younger referee, but Michael’s pretty experienced.
“He is caught out of position, there’s no question about it.
“I am pretty certain that Michael Oliver, if he feels he got in the way of a player, he will apologize.
“The answer is, he doesn’t blow for that, he blows when the ball hits him, that’s just football.
“You don’t want it to happen, rarely does it happen, but he can’t stop play because he’s blocked off a player.”
In other news, West Ham accelerate Evan Ferguson deal – Insider.
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