VAR official Michael Oliver, who is now banned from officiating Newcastle United and Sunderland matches due to his allegiance, drew criticism from Liverpool manager Arne Slot after controversially disallowing Virgil van Dijk’s goal in their 3-0 loss to Manchester City.
Premier League referee Michael Oliver has drawn renewed criticism following his performance as the VAR official during the controversial Premier League clash between Liverpool and Manchester City on Sunday.
The experienced official, who has taken charge of more than 400 Premier League games, was on VAR duties for the match in Manchester when Virgil van Dijk’s first-half header was controversially disallowed.
The decision was made after a VAR review judged Andy Robertson to be interfering with play. An official statement from the Premier League read:
“The referee’s call of offside and no goal to Liverpool was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Robertson in an offside position and deemed to be making an obvious action directly in front of the goalkeeper.”
Robertson, who had his back to goal, was seen ducking out of the way of Van Dijk’s effort.
Speaking in his post-match interview, Liverpool manager Arne Slot claimed it was “obvious and clear that the wrong decision has been made” to disallow the goal, adding: “He didn’t interfere at all with what the goalkeeper could do.”
According to a report from Sport Bible, Oliver is subject to a ban from officiating two specific clubs “for obvious reasons.”Oliver is a lifelong Newcastle United supporter and played for the club at junior level.
As a result, he cannot officiate any matches involving his team or local rivals Sunderland, a mandatory PGMOL procedure to prevent conflicts of interest.