Michael Oliver controversially sent off Myles Lewis-Skelly yesterday.
Oliver gave the 18-year-old his marching orders when he caught Matt Doherty with a deliberate trip.
Usually you would expect a yellow card for a foul like this but Oliver left Arsenal fans stunned by brandishing a red card.
There was speculation that the red card was due to Lewis-Skelly denying a goalscoring opportunity, despite the incident taking place 90 yards from goal.
But, the Premier League Match Centre account on X clarified the reason.
“The referee’s call of a red card for Lewis-Skelly was checked and confirmed by VAR, who deemed his challenge to have been serious foul play,” the account wrote.
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Now footage has emerged on social media of an incident between Mikel Arteta and Oliver with fans online speculating that the referee had angered the Spaniard with something he had said.
You can see the video below:
I would REALLY like to know what Michael Oliver said to Arteta here 😂
That pause and look back, he was evaluating his next move pic.twitter.com/RFGcD0sIkh
— Rory Talks Football (@Rory_Talks_Ball) January 26, 2025
Fans reacted on X formerly Twitter.
Michael Oliver very clearly says something to Arteta as he’s walking away, after they shake hands.
Arteta stops in his tracks and looks back at him.
What could a referee possibly have to say to a manager post-match that would evoke this kind of reaction? pic.twitter.com/APR5kbLata
— GoonerTalk (@GoonerTaIk) January 26, 2025
What could Michael Oliver have possibly said to Mikel Arteta at full-time to get this reaction?
I’d love to know… pic.twitter.com/hxhnfkkP0f
— now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) January 26, 2025
🎥 Michael Oliver saying something to Mikel Arteta at full-time… 😳🗣️
pic.twitter.com/Op64ZuYPyE— DailyAFC (@DailyAFC) January 26, 2025
Arsenal secured a hard fought 1-0 away win at Wolves through a 74th minute Riccardo Calafiori strike.