Oliver wrong to send off Lewis-Skelly - refs' chief Webb
Referees' chief Howard Webb says Michael Oliver was wrong to send off Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly during their Premier League win at Wolves.
Arsenal were fined £65,000 for failing to control their players during the incident in which 18-year-old Lewis-Skelly was shown a straight red card for a foul on Matt Doherty in a 1-0 win at Molineux on 25 January.
Video assistant referee (VAR) Darren England upheld referee Oliver's decision that Lewis-Skelly committed serious foul play.
The Gunners appealed against the decision and the teenager's three-match ban was subsequently overturned.
Former England captain Alan Shearer, speaking on BBC Match of the Day, said at the time the sending-off was "one of the worst decisions I've seen in a long time".
Speaking on the latest episode of Match Officials Mic'd Up - a Premier League Productions programme which analyses VAR decisions from previous gameweeks - Webb said while the officials got the decision wrong, it was not a "horrendous" one to make.
"From the outset, we would prefer a yellow card in this situation," added Webb.
"I've heard this described as a really horrendous officiating decision. It's not. I understand why the referee saw this on the day as a serious foul-play action."
Lewis-Skelly was dismissed for catching Doherty above the ankle with a late tackle to break up a counter-attack just outside the Wolves box in the 43rd minute when the game was goalless.
Aged 18 years and 121 days at the time, Lewis-Skelly became the third-youngest player to be sent off in the Premier League, behind Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen.
It split opinion, with former Premier League referee Mike Dean telling Sky Sports: "When you see a still image you understand what he has done.
"He has put his studs down his leg for serious foul play. Scraped down the Achilles."
But former Chelsea and Scotland winger Pat Nevin said he was "stunned" by the red card.
"Myles Lewis-Skelly is only 10 yards outside the opposition's box," added Nevin. "It must be for violent conduct, but that doesn't look like violent conduct.
"It's a cynical trip. I have never seen that in my life. I am stunned by a red card."
After the match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told Match of the Day the decision was "so obvious that today you don't need my words".
"I am absolutely fuming, but I leave it with you," he said to Sky Sports.
"Because it is that obvious, I don't think my words are going to help."
Webb, who is in charge of the referees' body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), said VAR England should have intervened to notice the "glanced studs" from Lewis-Skelly that should have kept him on the pitch.
"Clearly the referee on the day felt the actions of Myles Lewis-Skelly - he saw the player moving in towards an opponent without any ability or intention of playing the ball - with the intention of stopping the opponent.
"And the referee sees a raised foot make high contact and the opponent went down.
"But we know that for serious foul play, we need excessive force or brutality and what we see here is that high contact [just] glancing and coming off the leg quite quickly.
"So for that reason, everybody pretty much in the game has formed the same conclusion that this is falling short of serious foul play - because of that glancing contact.
"Because the studs don't really go right into the leg, they glance in before coming down on to the foot."
After the match, PGMOL said police were investigating "threats and abuse" directed at Oliver and his family on social media.
Oliver returned to refereeing swiftly, taking charge of Southampton's 2-1 win at Ipswich a week after sending off Lewis-Skelly.
He then refereed the 2-2 draw between Everton and Liverpool on 12 February.
In that last Merseyside derby at Goodison Park before Everton move to Bramley-Moore Dock, he showed Curtis Jones and Abdoulaye Doucoure red cards after the game had ended when the pair clashed as the latter started celebrating in front of the away fans.
In a chaotic ending, Liverpool manager Arne Slot and assistant Sipke Hulshoff were also sent off by Oliver.
"Nobody should be subject to threats, their families shouldn't be subject to threats - whether that be officials or players," added Webb when asked about the comments Oliver received on social media after dismissing Lewis-Skelly.
"It's really disappointing.
"People won't always want to agree with the decision. Yes, they can criticise where they feel that is justifiable, but not to the level we saw in this situation where it led to threats against the referee, the officials in this game and their families.
"It's wholly unacceptable."
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