Michael Oliver (referee)

Refereeing career

Born in Ashington, Northumberland, Oliver was introduced to refereeing by his father, Clive, at the age of 14. He quickly progressed through the ranks and was promoted to the National List of Referees in 2007; he refereed the 2007 Conference National play-off final, becoming the youngest football referee to officiate at Wembley Stadium. In addition he had already become the youngest Football League assistant referee, youngest Football League referee, and would also become the youngest fourth official in the Premier League.

The Oliver family enjoyed a unique refereeing double when father Clive took charge of the 2009 League Two play-off final and Michael officiated the next day at the 2009 League One play-off final. Oliver was set to become the youngest referee in the Premier League when he was appointed to a match between Fulham and Portsmouth in January 2010. However, adverse weather resulted in him having to postpone the match, and an ankle operation later sidelined him until April. He was promoted to the Select Group in August 2010, his first appointment being Birmingham City versus Blackburn Rovers. Oliver was 25 years and 182 days old, breaking Stuart Attwell's record as the youngest-ever Premier League referee.

Oliver was appointed fourth official for the 2013 League Cup final at Wembley Stadium. He refereed the FA Cup semi-final between Wigan Athletic and Millwall in April 2013 and in doing so became the youngest referee to take charge of an FA Cup semi-final. Wigan went on to win the FA Cup and played Manchester United in the subsequent FA Community Shield match in which Oliver was assigned as fourth official.

He was the referee for the 2014 FA Community Shield between Arsenal and Manchester City. The FA Cup holders Arsenal won the match 3–0.

Oliver refereed three group stage matches in the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, his first being Sporting CP against Legia Warsaw in September 2016.

On 11 April 2018, Oliver refereed the second leg of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League quarter-final between Real Madrid and Juventus. Real Madrid won the first leg 3–0 in Turin, which meant Juventus would have to win 3–0 in Madrid to take the match to extra time. Juventus led 3–0 until the 93rd minute, when Oliver awarded an injury time penalty to Real Madrid after Medhi Benatia challenged Lucas Vázquez in the box. Juventus players swarmed Oliver, with veteran goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon at the centre of the confrontation, receiving a red card for dissent. Oliver also issued nine yellow cards during the match. Second goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny was forced to be substituted in, with the resulting penalty kick converted by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 98th minute, for a final 4–3 aggregate win for Real Madrid to advance to the semi-final. second leg](2017-18-uefa-champions-league-knockout-phase-real-madrid-v-juventus)

• Carvajal
• Marcelo
• Ronaldo ,
• Mandžukić ,
• Pjanić
• Lichtsteiner
• Matuidi
• Alex Sandro
• Costa
• Benatia
• Buffon Several days later, the police investigated threatening text messages sent to Oliver's wife, Lucy, who had her mobile number posted on social media after the game, which led to the abusive texts. They also looked into reports of banging on the front door of their home and shouting abuse through their letterbox. On 11 May, Buffon was charged by UEFA over post-match comments made about referee Oliver, saying in part, "...Clearly you cannot have a heart in your chest, but a bag of rubbish...". Buffon later apologized for his comments. On 5 June, he received a three-match ban for UEFA competition matches.

On 26 March 2019, Oliver was appointed to referee in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland, with Simon Bennett and Stuart Burt serving as his assistant referees. Oliver officiated 3 matches at the tournament, including a group A clash between Senegal and Colombia, a round of 16 clash between Uruguay and Ecuador, and a semi-final between Ecuador and South Korea.

Oliver officiated the 2021 FA Cup Final on 15 May 2021, between Chelsea and Leicester City.

In a May 2022 FIFA pronouncement, Oliver was listed as one of six English officials to oversee matches at that November and December's World Cup. The list also included referee Anthony Taylor and four compatriot assistant referees—Simon Bennett, Gary Beswick, Stuart Burt, and Adam Nunn.

On 10 August 2022, he was the referee for the 2022 UEFA Super Cup between Eintracht Frankfurt and Real Madrid. On 18 April 2023, he refereed a match between Al Hilal and Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. In September 2023, he refereed a match between Sharjah FC and Al Ain FC for the UAE Pro League.

In January 2025, police in the UK launched an investigation after Oliver was subjected to threats following him issuing a controversial red card to Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly during a fixture against Wolverhampton. Following the incident, the PGMOL said they were "appalled" by the threats and said "a number of investigations have commenced."

List of refereed domestic finals

References

References

1. "Michael Oliver Referee Profile | Premier League". Premier League.
2. [http://www.refworld.com/referee/158/0 Refworld profile] {{webarchive. link. (15 July 2011)
3. [https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/michael-oliver-set-become-youngest-1409103 Michael Oliver set to become youngest referee] {{Webarchive. link. (8 July 2022 [[Evening Chronicle]])
4. [https://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/aug/06/michael-oliver-premier-league-select-referee Michael Oliver set to make history] {{Webarchive. link. (8 January 2017 ''The Guardian'')
5. (1 July 2014). "Michael Oliver to referee FA Community Shield". The Football Association.
6. (11 April 2018). "CL: Juve heartbreak at the Bernabeu". Football Italia.
7. (12 April 2018). "Benatia 'disgusted by the world of football' after controversial penalty call crushes Juventus' dreams". Goal.com.
8. (11 April 2018). "Buffon: Referee 'has a trashcan in place of a heart'". thescore.com.
9. (11 April 2018). "MATCH SUMMARY". UEFA.
10. (14 April 2018). "Michael Oliver: Police investigate text threats against referee's wife". BBC.
11. (11 May 2018). "Gianluigi Buffon: Juventus keeper charged over Michael Oliver comments". BBC Sport.
12. de Menezes, Jack. (17 May 2018). "Gianluigi Buffon apologises to referee Michael Oliver for going 'beyond the limits' after Champions League red card". The Independent.
13. (5 June 2018). "Gianluigi Buffon banned for three matches over referee comments". bbc.com.
14. FIFA.com. "FIFA U-20 World Cup 2019 - News - Match officials for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019 appointed - FIFA". FIFA.
15. (26 May 2019). "Match report – Group A – Senegal v Colombia". FIFA.
16. (3 June 2019). "Match report – Round of 16 – Uruguay v Ecuador". FIFA.
17. (11 June 2019). "Match report – Semi-finals – Ecuador v Korea Republic". FIFA.
18. (20 April 2021). "Michael Oliver to referee 2021 Emirates FA Cup Final". The Football Association.
19. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022".
20. (10 August 2022). "Real Madrid lift Super Cup after Alaba and Benzema sink Eintracht Frankfurt". Guardian.
21. (20 April 2023). "Explained: Why Cristiano Ronaldo's latest Al-Nassr loss was refereed by Michael Oliver - who earned DOUBLE his Premier League salary with £3k fee". Goal.com.
22. "Premier League referees freelancing in the UAE and Saudi? Webb has got himself in a tangle".
23. Grez, Matias. (2025-01-27). "Referee body says it is 'appalled' by 'threats and abuse' aimed at official Michael Oliver after Arsenal red card".
24. Shepardson, David. (2025-01-27). "Police Investigate Threats Against Referee Michael Oliver After Arsenal-Wolves Controversy".