Following his leadership of Everton’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool in last Wednesday’s Merseyside derby, Oliver came under fire.
The employment of referee Michael Oliver for this week’s Champions League matches has been decided by UEFA.
Last Wednesday, Oliver, 39, officiated the tumultuous final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
In front of a boisterous crowd, Everton captain James Tarkowski equalised the score at 2-2 with a spectacular volley in the 98th minute.
Reds player Curtis Jones got into a brawl with the Mali international shortly after Toffees midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure seemed to mock the Liverpool supporters congregated in the away section.
Oliver flashed a red card after giving both players a second yellow card. However, the drama didn’t end there.
Following a furious altercation with Oliver, Liverpool manager Arne Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff were both dismissed.
Since then, the FA has charged Slot, 46, and given him till Wednesday to reply. Hulshoff, 50, is in a similar predicament.
The Liverpool manager said that “emotions got the better” of him during a press conference last Friday.
“I would love to do it differently if I could,” Slot remarked. “Next time, I hope to do it in a different way.
“A lot of things that happened during extra time made me feel emotional, but I have to respect a process now, so I won’t go into specifics about what was said.”
The Premier League games this weekend had fans anxious to see if Oliver would be spared the firing line.
He served as the video assistant referee (VAR) for Brighton’s 3-0 victory over Chelsea at the AMEX on Friday night, despite not officiating any games during gameweek 25.
He was then the referee for Saturday’s 1-1 draw between relegation-threatened Ipswich Town and Aston Villa.
When will he be able to pitch again, though?
Oliver will officiate the all-French match between Paris Saint-Germain and Brest in the second leg of the Champions League play-offs on Wednesday night at the Parc des Princes, according to UEFA.
After a resounding victory in the first leg in Brittany last week, “Les Parisiens” enter the match three goals up on aggregate.
