- Neville has accused Arteta of fueling Arsenal fans’ hostility towards referees
- His comments come in the wake of Michael Oliver receiving death threats
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Gary Neville has accused Mikel Arteta of fuelling Arsenal fans’ growing hostility towards referees, warning the club’s approach is contributing to a toxic online culture.
The pundit’s comments come in the wake of referee Michael Oliver receiving death threats and abuse following Arsenal’s controversial 1-0 win over Wolves on Saturday.
Speaking about the reaction to Oliver’s performance, Neville highlighted how Arsenal’s rhetoric – particularly from Arteta and prominent fans – has led to dangerous accusations of corruption against referees.
Neville, speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet,
said: ‘They [Arsenal fans] use language like corruption, which means they think he’s getting paid and bought off – which is obviously not the case.
‘We [at Manchester United] lived in a club which created a siege mentality about the referees. Arsenal are doing a bit of that as well – there’s no doubt that what Arsenal do is inflame the situation after the game rather than calm it down, they’ve done that for 12 months – but we can’t say that’s wrong having played in the dressing room that we did.’
‘The difference is now with social media, when we were playing back in the day and doing similar things with referees, we weren’t inflaming what would be a cause of corruption on social media.
Gary Neville has accused Mikel Arteta of fuelling Arsenal fans’ hostility towards referees
Oliver controversially sent off Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly during their 1-0 win at Wolves
Neville highlighted how Arsenal’s rhetoric has led to claims of corruption against referees
‘Now you have a sway of Arsenal’s anger, which comes from the players and from Mikel Arteta, and prominent fans. You now have a social media wave now which goes towards [allegations of] corruption and cheating. In our day, we couldn’t have that much influence – everyone was at home without a phone, and didn’t have Twitter.’
Oliver, one of the Premier League’s most experienced referees, found himself at the centre of controversy after showing Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly a straight red card for a late challenge on Matt Doherty.
The decision sparked outrage among Arsenal supporters, with accusations of bias quickly spreading online, before the red card was rescinded earlier this week.
The backlash escalated into something far more sinister, as Oliver and his family—his partner Laura and their two-year-old daughter—were subjected to death threats.
The Metropolitan Police intervened, passing the case to Oliver’s local force after a police car was stationed outside his home on Sunday morning.
Disturbingly, it was later revealed that threats had been made to blow up Oliver’s car while his family was inside, and people had previously turned up at his house to shout abuse through his letterbox.
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) condemned the threats, issuing a statement calling the abuse ‘abhorrent’ and confirming police investigations were underway.
Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett suggested that Oliver should be removed from officiating for a short period. ‘I’d be saying to Michael Oliver, I think you need a rest and I think you’re not going to see another game in the Premier League for a couple of weeks.’
Arteta’s Arsenal side are second in the Premier League table behind Liverpool
Despite the pressure, Oliver has chosen to continue officiating. He will take charge of Ipswich vs Southampton on Saturday and has also been assigned the rearranged Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on February 12. However, he has not been selected for Arsenal’s high-profile clash with Manchester City on Sunday.
Neville came to Oliver’s defence, strongly rejecting the idea that the referee could be influenced by external pressure.
‘I hate the idea of a referee being taken off a game,’ he said.
‘He [Michael Oliver] is the best referee in the country, and the idea that he would go into that game on Sunday and be swayed towards Manchester City – he’s not going to do that, he’s a professional.’
