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Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer deliver their verdicts on Michael Oliver giving Myles Lewis-Skelly a red card for Arsenal vs Wolves
Michael Oliver’s decision to send Myles Lewis-Skelly off for a straight red card during Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers has caused some controversy to say the least.
In the 43rd minute of the game, when Arsenal and Wolves were still level at 0-0, Oliver decided to give Lewis-Skelly a straight red card on the edge of his opponent’s box.
Wolves were on the break from an Arsenal corner and the youngster spotted the danger, choosing to foul Santiago Bueno, a challenge often considered as a ‘professional foul’.
In fact, it was the kind of challenge young players are usually praised for by their teammates when they collect their yellow card, a clever if not ugly side of the game that can’t be ignored.
However, Oliver saw fit to send the 18-year-old straight down the tunnel, a decision which has stunned pundits, fans and Arsenal’s players since.
Michael Oliver slammed for decision to give Myles Lewis-Skelly a red card
That being said, Gary Lineker discussed the decision on Match of the Day alongside Alan Shearer and Danny Murphy.
All three pundits, who have tons of Premier League experience, were in agreement that it was a ‘terrible’ decision, one that VAR should have intervened with.
READ MORE: Why Myles Lewis-Skelly is now ‘very worried’ after Arsenal win over Wolves
Lineker began: “I don’t think they should need to [appeal it], it was an incredibly poor decision we felt.
“So let’s start with that, Lewis-Skelly’s red card – we all thought straight away, yellow card.”
Shearer then replied: “Should have been [a yellow], it’s exactly what it should have been, it’s a terrible decision – [the ref] got a really good view of it.
“The criteria for the red card, there’s no speed, there’s no intensity, the force, it’s not endangering an opponent and he’s about 90 yards from goal – so you put all that together, never ever a red card.
“What worries me more than anything would be, you’ve got an assistant VAR and you’ve got a VAR who have seen several replays in slow motion and they think that that is a clear red card – serious foul play.
“And they don’t think of the idea to say to the referee, ‘we think you’ve made a big error there, you need to go to the screen.’
“That would be the worrying thing for me because it’s a terrible decision.”
Why didn’t VAR overturn Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card?
As always, Premier League Match Centre explained VAR’s involvement with the decision on X after the game.
Arsenal fans were furious with Lewis Skelly’s red card, and VAR actually decided that there was no need to change Oliver’s decision, or even have him check the call.
Sharing their response on X, they wrote: “The referee’s call of a red card for Lewis-Skelly was checked and confirmed by VAR, who deemed his challenge to have been serious foul play.”
A baffling sequence of events all round, and Mikel Arteta has every right to feel aggrieved, as does Lewis-Skelly who is set to be suspended for three games as things stand.
Arteta hoped that his side wouldn’t even need to appeal the decision when speaking at full-time, a red card that should be rescinded very swiftly by all accounts.