Manchester United legend, Gary Neville, has made a sensational claim that Arsenal's manager, Mikel Arteta is partly responsible for the harsh criticism referees have been receiving from Arsenal fans. This comes in the wake of an incident where match official Michael Oliver was subjected to severe online abuse and death threats following a controversial decision during the Gunners' clash against Wolves.
The controversy arose when Oliver sent off Myles Lewis-Skelly for what he deemed as a cynical foul following a trip against Matt Doherty on the edge of the Wolves penalty area. The Premier League initially supported this decision, stating that Lewis-Skelly had been dismissed for "serious foul play". However, this suspension was later rescinded.
Despite this reversal, Oliver became a target of vile abuse on social media after Arsenal won the game 1-0. A statement by PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) expressed their disgust at these actions: "We are appalled by the threats and abuse directed at Michael Oliver following the Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal fixture."
Arteta's response and Neville's accusation
In response to these events, Arteta condemned the attack on Oliver and called upon governing bodies to eradicate such "hatred" from football. However, his reaction did not sit well with former Manchester United star Gary Neville who accused him of being one of those responsible for inciting such behavior among fans.
Neville voiced his accusations during an episode of Stick to Football podcast sponsored by Sky Bet. He suggested that Arteta played a significant role in riling up fans leading them to direct their anger towards referees.
Manchester United legend, Gary Neville, said:
"They [Arsenal fans] use language like corruption, which means they think he's getting paid and bought off – which is obviously not the case. We [at Manchester United] lived in a club which created a siege mentality about the referees. Arsenal are doing a bit of that as well – there's no doubt that what Arsenal do is inflame the situation after the game rather than calm it down, they've done that for 12 months – but we can't say that's wrong having played in the dressing room that we did.
"The difference is now with social media, when we were playing back in the day and doing similar things with referees, we weren't inflaming what would be a cause of corruption on social media. Now you have a sway of Arsenal's anger, which comes from the players and from Mikel Arteta, and prominent fans. You now have a social media wave now which goes towards [allegations of] corruption and cheating. In our day, we couldn't have that much influence – everyone was at home without a phone, and didn't have Twitter."
Michael Oliver returns to action
Despite facing shocking online abuse post-Arsenal-Wolves match-up, referee Michael Oliver didn't let the incident deter him from his duties. He made an immediate return to action, officiating Barcelona's Champions League clash against Atalanta.
Oliver is also scheduled to return to Premier League action next weekend, where he will officiate the match between Ipswich and Southampton. Furthermore, he has been chosen as the referee for the final Goodison Park Merseyside derby on February 12.
While it is essential for football managers like Arteta to voice their opinions and concerns about match decisions, they must do so responsibly. Their influence over fans should be used constructively rather than fueling negative sentiments towards referees who are integral to maintaining fairness in the sport.
