Oliver’s Controversial Calls Ruled: Sending Off Trossard and Not Punishing Haaland Both Correct

In the fifth round of the Premier League, a series of controversial refereeing incidents occurred during Manchester City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal, sparking heated discussions. The referee in charge, Michael Oliver, was thrust into the spotlight. According to reports from ESPN, Mirror, and others, the Premier League’s independent Key Match Incidents (KMI) review panel ruled on two of Oliver’s controversial decisions.

Regarding Oliver’s decision to show Trossard a second yellow card and send him off, five KMI members voted, with four supporting Oliver’s call and one opposing it. Thus, the ruling was 4-1 in favor of Oliver’s decision to issue Trossard a second yellow card. However, the panel did not rule on the similar situation involving Doku that was not penalized in the same match.

Additionally, regarding Haaland hitting Arsenal defender Gabriel in the back of the head with the ball but not being punished by Oliver, the panel deemed this incident not critical to the game. Therefore, the ruling supported Oliver’s judgment. Notably, the call that caused strong dissatisfaction among Manchester City was when Oliver allowed Arsenal to restart the game early after stopping play, leading to Kalafiori scoring an equalizer; however, the KMI did not rule on this incident either.

The sixth round of the Premier League will kick off this weekend. At that time, Oliver will serve as the VAR official for the Chelsea versus Brighton match. Following that, he will referee the Premier League match between Southampton and Bournemouth.