Police investigating 'abhorrent' abuse towards Premier League referee
Police investigating 'abhorrent' abuse towards Premier League referee
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Police have been made aware of "abhorrent attacks" on social media aimed at Premier League official Michael Oliver and his family, the referees' body has said. The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), responsible for referees in England's professional football leagues, said it was "appalled by the threats and abuse" aimed at Oliver.
It comes after his controversial decision to send off Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly in the North London side's 1-0 win against Wolves at Molineux on Saturday. The 18-year-old was shown a straight red card in the first half for taking down Matt Doherty. The decision, which was checked and confirmed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team, has been criticised by some pundits and a former top referee.
However, the PGMOL has said that abuse aimed at Oliver and referees must stop. In a statement, the PGMOL said: "No official should be subject to any form of abuse, let alone the abhorrent attacks aimed at Michael and his family over the past 24 hours. "The police are aware, and a number of investigations have commenced.
"We are supporting Michael, and all those affected, and are determined to tackle this unacceptable behaviour. "Sadly, this is not the first time a match official has been forced to deal with threats in recent times.". Be the first to get Breaking News. Install the Sky News app for free.
