Michael Oliver's 'arrogant' recent performances prove he is no longer the Premier League's top official, claims former referee chief

An air of arrogance has pervaded Michael Oliver's recent officiating and contributed to him no longer being the Premier League's best, a former referee chief has claimed. Keith Hackett, former PGMOL boss and ex-FIFA official, believes that Oliver would benefit from coaching advice in the wake of his display in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday night. The official brandished four red cards after the final whistle following a brawl at the end of a thrilling 2-2 draw between Everton and Liverpool. The visitors were aggrieved by a number of decisions that went against them, including the awarding of a free kick that led to the Toffees opener.

And the decision by Oliver and VAR Chris Kavanagh to overlook a push on Ibrahima Konate in the lead up to James Tarkowski's dramatic late equaliser. Reds captain Virgil van Dijk claimed that Oliver lost control of proceedings and Hackett reckons the Englishman's recent performances - which include the shocking dismissal of Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly for an innocuous foul - mean he should no longer be considered the best referee in the country.

Hackett wrote in the Telegraph: 'I’m not saying he is ‘lording it’ but he is not performing as well as he could and probably needs a boot up the backside to say "if you want to retain your status as No 1, you have to perform better". Keith Hackett, A former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official, believes that Michael Oliver is no longer England's best referee. The official has faced criticism for his performance during Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Everton.

Oliver was also slammed for sending off Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly (right) for an innocuous tackle last month. 'In my opinion, he is currently not No 1. Anthony Taylor performs better than him at times and the referee really shining at the moment is Sam Barrott, who is relatively new to the list and performing really well. 'You cannot live on your reputation, you are only as good as your last game and Oliver needs to be told that. Looking at his performance in the Merseyside derby, there were mistakes throughout and staying on the pitch at the final whistle virtually invited a confrontation with Arne Slot.

'Refereeing a game like that means having empathy with what is in front of you.'. The four red cards dished out by Oliver were shown to Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones and Everton's Abdoulaye Doucoure after the pair were involved in the altercation that sparked the chaos. Liverpool boss Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff were also dismissed following heated exchanges with the official as they queried the award of Everton's equaliser.

Earlier, Oliver had given the home side a free kick despite replays showing that there was no contact on Everton winger Iliman Ndiaye by Alexis Mac Allister. Jarrad Branthwaite took the opportunity to pass to Beto after he was not covered by Konate, leading to a shot that squirmed beneath Alisson for his fourth Premier League goal this season. Liverpool were quick to equalise through Mac Allister's header after an assist from Mohamed Salah. They then took the lead in the 73rd minute after a strike from the Egyptian, who extended his lead at the top of the Premier League scoring charts with his 23rd of the term.

Oliver sent off Liverpool manager Arne Slot after a heated exchange with the Dutchman on Wednesday night. Curtis Jones and Abdoulaye Doucoure received second yellow cards for the altercation that sparked a mass brawl. Both sets of players, stewards and police attempted to diffuse the scuffle after the final whistle. However, the Toffees were to have the final say in the last-ever Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, with Tarkowski's expertly taken half-volley in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

'The Merseyside derby is always a challenging game for the match officials,' Hackett added. 'When the temperature rose, Oliver failed to raise his performance. I also felt that there were occasions when he needed to impose his authority through the spoken word. 'A quiet word then a public rebuke before bookings. He decided to show yellow cards rather than his authority. 'One other aspect to consider: Oliver is stagnating and I think one of the problems is the quality of coaches within the PGMOL. When you consider that Lee Mason is head of coaching it says to me that Oliver is above their standard and that is where the shortfall is.