Manchester City 2-2 Arsenal was a mistake made by Michael Oliver. VAR was powerless to address
At the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, Michael Oliver had to referee a tense match between Manchester City and Arsenal, which ended in a 2-2 draw.
Leandro Trossard was given a second yellow card by the 39-year-old for kicking the ball away at the end of the first half. In the second half, he had to deal with several violent altercations between players like Erling Haaland and Gabriel Magalhaes.
But before he dismissed Trossard, Michael Oliver made a mistake for which VAR was powerless.
What went wrong in Manchester City for Michael Oliver Arsenal 2, 2-2
We think the guy from Ashington erred in letting Arsenal take advantage of the short freekick, which allowed Riccardo Calafiori to tie the score at one in the twenty-second minute.
Oliver signaled for Kyle Walker to approach the England international and issue a warning, but before the Manchester City number two could return to position, the game was restarted.
Gabriel Martinelli then took advantage of the opening, setting up Calafiori for a spectacular strike that became his first for Arsenal.
Arsenal deserves credit for their quick thinking, no doubt, but Oliver should have given the restart a few more seconds to pause after he pulled Walker over for a conversation close to the center circle, some 45 yards from his defensive right position.
VAR was powerless to step in because it was merely a freekick and there are no laws prohibiting such actions.
Four seconds into the game, Kai Havertz and Rodri had a bizarre collision. The VAR examined it closely but found no evidence of misconduct.
Gary Neville’s remarks regarding the Kyle Walker incident
Oliver’s actions were also observed by Gary Neville.
The 49-year-old said, “He’s pulled him out of position but not allowed him to get back,” while doing live commentary for Sky Sports. That would irritate me.
The argument went on long after the game was over, with Pep Guardiola bringing it up in his post-game interview and declaring, “I admire my team.” After numerous delays, my team got off to a strong start. Following the first goal, the referee asked Walker and Bukayo Saka, the leaders, to speak.
Nobody can hold the Manchester City players responsible for not walking a few yards to speak with the referee the next time, as they will undoubtedly be cautious of a repeat of this exact incident.
