Another day, another Michael Oliver conspiracy. It’s becoming a little bit sad and pathetic.
The country’s premier referee found himself in the spotlight again on Wednesday night at the end of a feisty, fiery Merseyside derby. The Northumberland-born official brandished four red cards after the final whistle in a chaotic finale as Goodison Park erupted in emotion at the end of the last derby at the old stadium.
The game ended 2-2 after James Tarkowski’s equaliser for Everton in the 98th minute sparked wild scenes inside the ground. Abdoulaye Doucoure was seen racing to celebrate in front of the Liverpool supporters at the final whistle, sparking an angry reaction from Curtis Jones. Both players received second yellow cards from Oliver while both Liverpool boss Arne Slot and assistant Sipke Hulshoff were subsequently shown red cards in the ensuing scenes.
Liverpool complained about the equalising goal from Tarkowski after offside claims against Doucoure and accusations of a foul from Beto on Ibrahima Konate in the build-up. The goal stood, the spoils were shared and Liverpool remain top of the league by nine points. Odds on to win the title.
Slot and Hulshoff will face a touchline ban at the weekend when Liverpool face Wolves. Jones will also be suspended.
Cue another Oliver social media pile-on. So soon after he was accused of bias against Arsenal, ahead of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle, it was all too predictable.
‘Newcastle fan Michael Oliver tries to upset Liverpool any way he can ahead of the cup final’ is one post you’ll find on Twitter today.
‘Newcastle fan Michael Oliver handing out free yellows to the team Newcastle are soon to play in a final’ is another.
Grown men having barmpot opinions is as old as football itself. Conspiracy theories date back long before JFK was shot by a lone sniper (or was he?) behind a grassy knoll.
Newcastle will head into the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, March 16 as underdogs. The Magpies will hopefully have a different approach to two years ago when they were comfortably dispatched by Manchester United in their first cup final for almost a quarter of a century, tamely going down to a 2-0 defeat after being at times overawed by the experience.
Even if they do, though, Liverpool are strong favourites to lift the season’s first piece of silverware. Their form this season at home and in Europe has been outstanding and the usually measured Slot is rightly being hailed for the way he has built on and improved Jurgen Klopp’s side after the German’s heavy metal reign.
Still, every club’s fanbase has a few doubts. It’s in-built in football supporters. The fear of failure gnaws away at you. Liverpool’s inability to see out the game against Everton, coming so soon after they crashed out of the FA Cup against Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle has perhaps seen a few cracks emerge in their belief.
The reaction of Liverpool fans online may be over the top, as were some of the scenes at full-time at Goodison, but it can give Eddie Howe and his players belief that the Anfield club are starting to perhaps feel the pressure.
Carabao Cup 2025 special edition
Newcastle United have reached Wembley again after reaching the final of the Carabao Cup. The showpiece game takes place on Sunday, March 16 and to celebrate, Newcastle Chronicle will be producing a print special edition. Costing £3.50, it will have interviews, analysis, opinion and news and will be on sale from March 5 in retailers while you can also pre-order online now.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpools-pathetic-michael-oliver-newcastle-30995394
