Do you know what? Let them have this one.
Let Everton celebrate wildly as if it were a last-gasp winner in a Champions League final.
For the punters amongst us, you’d feel pretty safe guaranteeing that the Blues won’t come close to experiencing that occasion or the associated euphoria for the next hundred or so years.
And the Premier League? Forget about it.
For Liverpool, on the other hand, with seven points separating them from second-placed Arsenal at the top of the league summit – there is very much a title to be won.
There’s just the “small” (in inverted commas) task of upcoming trips to Villa Park and the Etihad Stadium to contend with following our hosting of Wolves at the weekend.
Why Michael Oliver sent off Arne Slot
![Arne Slot speaks with Premier League referee Michael Oliver.](https://icdn.empireofthekop.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Arne-Slot-Michael-Oliver-Liverpool-Everton-Premier-League.jpg)
You can’t help but feel a little sorry for Michael Oliver.
The Premier League official didn’t just get it mildly wrong at the final Goodison Park derby. Rather, the Englishman’s litany of errors on the blue half of Merseyside perfectly encapsulated just how far the standard of officiating in the English top-flight has fallen.
It wasn’t just a cry for help; it was a charity appeal pleading with the FA and PGMOL for an immediate injection of quality in the officiating ranks.
Please, sir – can we have a half-decent referee?
Just look at Oliver’s frankly arrogant decision to send off Arne Slot for what looked like, at best, a vigorous handshake.
Who knows, perhaps there’ll have been a bit of bite in the Liverpool head coach’s comments. The 39-year-old will have to hope so; we just don’t see how he can otherwise justify dismissing the Dutchman after the full-time whistle for a potentially aggressive handshake.
Arne Slot was sent off for an aggressive handshake pic.twitter.com/CEBTExQSBx
— Football Fights (@footbalIfights) February 12, 2025
Oliver really sent Slot off because of a vigorous handshake
I once gave a paper cut to a man from nestle and he didn’t even flinch pic.twitter.com/WgYTIpF6Mi
— The Redmen TV (@TheRedmenTV) February 12, 2025
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The post The pathetic reason why Michael Oliver sent off Slot will have Liverpool fans laughing & crying appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.