Tottenham insider slams ‘Horrific’ Michael Oliver after what happened in Arsenal defeat
John Wenham has criticised Michael Oliver’s “horrific” refereeing performance in the North London derby between Tottenham and Arsenal.
The owner of the reputable Spurs podcast Lilywhite Rose believes that Oliver’s continuous mistakes contributed to Ange Postecoglou’s side being beaten 3-2 by their fierce rivals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (28 April).
As per the Daily Mail (30 April), Oliver will be on VAR duty this weekend for Brighton’s clash with Aston Villa at the Amex Stadium (5 May) after his controversial performance last time out.
And Wenham – speaking exclusively to Tottenham News – believes that refereeing standards in England are at an “all-time low”.
“If just one or two referee decisions had gone in our favour, it could have been a very different game,” Wenham said.
“I thought the performance of Oliver was horrific, one of the worst refereeing performances I’ve ever seen.
“I’m not sure how he missed Declan Rice’s kick on Ben Davies when he was just a matter of yards away from the incident.
“That was disappointing, as were some other decisions throughout the match. It just feels like the refereeing standards in this country are at an all-time low, and Tottenham paid the price of that on Sunday.”
Michael Oliver will not be a popular man in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
While VAR eventually helped Oliver come to the right decision at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it is shocking that any intervention was needed at all.
Rice’s challenge on Davies was a stonewall penalty, and Oliver had the best view in the house of the incident.
While the decision to take him off-field this weekend is reportedly due to his role as referee in Thursday’s UEFA Europa Conference League clash between Aston Villa and Olympiacos (2 May), it is hard not to think that the Premier League will be relieved.
Oliver clearly needs some time out of the spotlight, as his performance once again underpinned the referring issues which currently exist in the Premier League.
In other Tottenham news, James Maddison could be axed by Postecoglou against Chelsea on Thursday.
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