Michael Oliver, one of the Premier League’s finest match officials, travelled to Saudi Arabia in the middle of the week to referee a league match between Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr and Al Hilal. Oliver’s travel to the Middle East came just a few days after he presided over Crystal Palace’s triumph over Southampton on Saturday, and ahead of his appearance at Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest this weekend.
In Saudi Arabia, he was joined by fellow FIFA-recognized officials Stuart Burt, Simon Bennett, and Darren England. Oliver is a leading match official and a member of UEFA’s elite group of referees, and he frequently referees in Champions League and international matches abroad.
Michael Oliver garners international attention after Cristiano Ronaldo booking incident
While Oliver regularly officiates in the Premier League, and the Champions League, it is believed, however, that the Saudi Pro League game between Al Nassr and Al-Hilal was his first occasion presiding over a match in another local league, and his visit drew international attention after he issued Cristiano Ronaldo a yellow card for yanking down an opponent by the neck.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s team was defeated 2-0, with Al Hilal scoring twice through Odion Ighalo, another former Manchester United striker. Both the goals came from resulting penalties awarded by Oliver. However, the question most of the spectators had was, how was Michael Oliver, an elite English referee officiating in Saudi Pro League.
The Times has now revealed the reason behind such a move. According to the news outlet, the Saudi Arabian FA requested Oliver and Co to referee the game since they were concerned that local officials would crack under the pressure of such a high-octane atmosphere.
Oliver is said to have been granted permission to travel to Saudi Arabia after the proposal was examined and approved by key decision-makers at Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and the Football Association. They hoped it would enrich their experiences while also helping the reputation of English authorities abroad.
It is the first time such an exchange has occurred since the PGMOL’s creation in 2001. Within PGMOL, which is currently led by chief refereeing officer Howard Webb, Oliver’s journey to Saudi Arabia is seen as additional evidence of British officials’ worldwide standing. Webb formerly worked in Saudi Arabia, where he was the country’s director of referees from 2015 to 2017, after retiring from active refereeing.
It is not the first time that a high-profile European official has been appointed to oversee one of the Saudi Pro League’s matches. Last month, Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz was assigned to officiate Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr’s all-important game against league-leaders Al Ittihad.
Oliver’s availability for Premier League fixtures has not been affected by his travel to Saudi Arabia, and he has been named as the referee for Manchester City’s top-of-the-table clash against Arsenal on Thursday (27 April) next week. This will be another high-octane game as the outcome of the clash could decide the title race, and it seems Oliver is the English FA’s and PGMOL’s go-to man for such crunch games.