Premier League referee Michael Oliver has revealed the one player who he absolutely HATED to officiate.
Olivier is arguably the most renowned referee in English football at current, having been the official most frequently appointed to the bigger fixtures. That’s a testament to the high standards he sets while officiating.
To be able to face a barrage of abuse and criticism from players, fans and coaches, all while cracking on with the job at hand, is commendable. That said, there was one player in particular who he struggled with.
During an interview with The Athletic, Oliver named former Wales international Craig Bellamy as the most difficult player he ever refereed, “Craig Bellamy was incredibly difficult.”
“What you find is that some teams are difficult. Teams that aren’t winning for a starter — that’s the same at every level — and teams who aren’t used to losing, the frustration level is higher for them.”
“But one player, it would be Bellamy. I watched him for two or three years — I’m a Newcastle fan and you wanted him in your team because he was a winner.”
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“But he was a nightmare to referee because he would argue about everything. If you told him it was black, he’d tell you it was white.”
Bellamy has never been considered one of football’s nice guys, so this doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
What he was, though, was a player with a will to win. He will have been constantly looking to gain a yard in Oliver’s mind in hope that it could make the difference for his team.
It won’t have made him any friends in the refereeing community, but supporters of clubs that Bellamy played for will have appreciated that he never made the refs’ lives easy for them.
