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.”
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said he was “fuming” immediately after the match but would not comment on the decision.
Football pundit and former player, Alan Shearer, called it “one of the worst decisions that I’ve seen in a long time”.
Ex-Premier League referee Keith Hackett told talkSPORT the sending-off was a “major error” and the VAR team should have “helped Michael” – and that Oliver should be given a “rest” for a couple of weeks.
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The Ref Support UK charity argued that comments from players and coaches are fuelling the abuse officials face.
On the attacks aimed at Oliver, pundit and former Premier League player Jamie Redknapp said on Sky Sports: “He absolutely doesn’t deserve that abuse.
“He might be the first to say he could have bought himself a little bit of time, but referees can make mistakes just like footballers can. That’s life.”
