Refereeing

THE reason behind Michael Oliver’s shock appearance in Saudi Arabia has been revealed. Oliver jetted to the Middle East to whistle the match between Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr and title rivals Al Halil.
The reason behind Michael Oliver’s appearance in Saudi Arabia has been revealedCredit: Getty
Oliver showed Cristiano Ronaldo a yellow cardCredit: AFP
And The Times have now revealed why Oliver and his team, containing Stuart Burt, Simon Bennett and Darren England, were placed at the game.
The Saudi Arabian FA put in a special request for Oliver and Co to ref the game over concerns local refs could crack under the pressure of such a high-octane atmosphere.
England’s referee body PGMOL, as well as the FA, considered the request and came to the conclusion the experience would be beneficial for Oliver and his team.
They believed it would serve to both broaden their experiences and aid the reputation of English officials abroad.
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It is the first time such an exchange has happened since the inception of the PGMOL in 2001.
During the game, which ended 2-0 to Al Halil thanks to a brace from Odion Ighalo, Oliver showed a furious Ronaldo a yellow card after he put an opponent in a headlock.
Saudi Arabia utilised this ref loan system as recently as March, with Spanish ref Antonio Mateu Lahoz flown in to oversee Al Nassr’s match with Al Ittihad.
It can be done as many as five times in a season.
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However, the venture overseas will not impact the team’s duties in the Premier League, with each of them involved in matches in the coming weekend.
Indeed, Oliver – a member of the Uefa Elite Group of Referees since 2018 – is also pencilled in to oversee Arsenal’s top-of-the-table clash against Manchester City next week.
This news will not have been greeted too warmly by Gunners fans, with Arsenal having lost 16 games Oliver has whistled. Though they have won all four under him this campaign.
Oliver has overseen 24 games in England’s top flight this season. More

FANS have claimed that Notts County’s last-gasp penalty against Wrexham should have been retaken on Easter Monday.With Wrexham leading 3-2, Notts County were awarded a spot kick deep into stoppage time.
Ben Foster made an incredible penalty save to deny Notts CountyCredit: Getty
Foster, 40, was mobbed for his heroicsCredit: Alamy
A still image showed Foster off his line and several players encroachingCredit: National league
Cedwyn Scott stepped up, only to be denied by Ben Foster’s brilliant save.
The dramatic moment earned Wrexham all three points… as well as a kiss on the lips from Rob McElhenney for Foster.
One non-league fan on Twitter, however, raised the point that the penalty possibly should have been retaken.
Sharing a grab of the moment Scott struck the ball, the social media user, who supports National League strugglers Torquay, pointed out that Foster was off his line.
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The image also shows several Wrexham players encroaching, including Luke Young, the man that went on to clear the ball.
It was also pointed out that the linesman had moved infield specifically to watch whether Foster came off his line or not, only to not notice.
One fan wrote: “Nonsensical. Should have been a retake.”
While a second added: “Lino clearly thought. He’s close enough. That’ll do for me”.”
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Plenty of other fans disagreed, however, with one writing: “Tedious. Nothing doing with any of this if you ask me. Barely off his line and they’re just inside, balls left his foot by this point too by the looks of it.”
And a second brutally tweeted: “Don’t worry about us, concentrate on your relegation battle.”
A third reasonably added: “Non league football. Hardly the worst decision I’ve seen. Over the course of a season it goes both ways.”
Wrexham’s win saw them move onto a staggering 103 points from 42 matches – three clear of impressive rivals Notts County and with a game in hand.
Rob kissed me fully on the lips and Ryan called me a double-handsome b*****dBen Foster
After the match, a beaming Foster said: “Rob kissed me fully on the lips and Ryan called me a double-handsome b*****d. I’ll take that.”
Co-owner Ryan Reynolds told BT Sport: “When I get my hands on Ben Foster he’s going to be on the injured reserve list. I’m going to break ribs I’m going to hug him so hard.’
“I’m used to working under extreme pressure, but usually I have some kind of control over it.
“I have nothing here, all I can do is watch and hope like everybody else.
“It was a pressure cooker coming into it for both of these teams. What both have achieved is historic on every level and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like that.”
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds were thrilled by the late winCredit: PA More

UEFA have launched an investigation after a referee denied “fake news” claiming he and three other officials arrived drunk and fought other passengers before officiating a match in Greece.First official Pawel Raczkowski, his assistants Radoslaw Siejka as well as Adam Kupcik and VAR ref Krzysztof Jakubik have categorically denied those allegations and stated they were in fact the ones assaulted.
UEFA have launched an investigation into “fake” claims that led to referees being replacedCredit: Getty
Pawel Raczkowski denied “fake news” and claimed he was assaulted in GreeceCredit: Alamy
According to Sport FM, the football governing body have initiated disciplinary proceedings to investigate the matter that led to the “shady” replacement of all Polish officials before the Superleague play-off clash between AEK Athens and Aris on Sunday.
UEFA will also request audio and video material from Athens International Airport’s security to deem whether there was a scuffle in the luggage claim area.
Raczkowski, though, insists he and his colleagues were actually the ones who were threatened and assaulted by two people claiming to be Panathinaikos fans at Eleftherios Venizelos.
The Polish official added that he was “spat” at in the face and “pushed” by the alleged assailants until security intervened.
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Raczkowski issued the following statement: “In relation to the news bulletin about the purported situation at Athens International Airport from the 8th of April 2023, I want to categorically deny being intoxicated or exhibiting aggressive behaviour.
“I was attacked by two Greek speaking Polish men. They identified themselves as Panathinaikos supporters and attacked me first, verbally accusing me of match-fixing, secondly physically by spitting on me an [sic] then pushing me.
“I reported the situation to airport security who calmed the aggressive individuals down.
“After this I went directly to the hotel where I stayed all night. I deny all fake news about myself and the whole referee team.”
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Greek governing body EPO opted to replace the four refs with Greek counterparts, led by Aristotelis Diamantopoulos, even though it was decided only international officials would oversee the play-offs.
Olympiacos, who are owned by Nottingham Forest supremo Evangelos Marinakis, issued another fiery and lengthy statement towards EPO president Takis Baltakos as well as the body’s chief referee and former Premier League official Steve Bennett
The reigning Greek champions described the body as a “corruption ring” and hinted they will take the matter to court. More