The Football Association have released a statement this evening to announce that the appeal over Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card against Wolves on Saturday has been successful.
An independent Regulatory Commission has upheld a claim of wrongful dismissal in relation to Myles Lewis-Skelly and removed his three-match suspension.
The Arsenal player was sent off for serious foul play during their Premier League fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, January 25, 2025.
It’s obviously good news for the player and for Arsenal, and he will now be available for the visit of Man City on Sunday and the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Newcastle.
And perhaps that growing vocal minority who came out of the woodwork over the last couple of days to defend Michael Oliver, VAR and the PGMOL – and to tell us the sending off was justified – can crawl back in where they belong.
Pleasingly, they now look even more stupid than if they had just eaten humble pie and rescinded it themselves. How many will Oliver send off the next time he’s in charge of one of our games?
I don’t want Michael Oliver in the same city as an Arsenal game again. That’s not a hope, I would like the club to move heaven and earth to make that happen. The longer he’s allowed to continue his claim as England’s “best”, the longer we’re just sitting here waiting for retaliation. Root him out.
I would like to know if the PGMOL representative voted for or against the decision.
Does anyone know if it was a unanimous decision or one arrogant prick from PGMOL supported his/her corrupt organization?
I would like to know if the PGMOL representative voted for or against the decision.
Does anyone know if it was a unanimous decision or one arrogant individual from PGMOL supported his/her corrupt organization?
Since they focus so much on the abuse he received surely they should think about this and not put in an position where it might happen again.
So in my view he shouldn’t ref anymore of our game for his safety!
So Daithi, you’re good with threatening the man’s safety? This is the sort of moronic remark that should be taken down, and that makes Arsenal fans look like idiots. What are you thinking?
Swooooooosh
As someone aptly put it . . . manipulation (or gaslighting) is when they blame you for your reaction to their toxic behavior but never want to discuss the disrespect, dare I add, and the corruption that triggered you.
FWIW, zero evidence has been presented by PGMOL regarding their claim that Oliver was threatened. I’m not so keen to believe their claim until I see evidence, as they’ve earned zero trust from me.
If he reacts to Arsenal tweets in the same way he reacts to Arsenal fouls, the “threatening tweet” was probably “that was a bad decision”.
I’M BEING THREATENED! YOU ALL SAW IT
What? Where did I say anything about be ok with him being threatened?
I’m saying should focus on his safety and not put in a position where it might happen again. His family receiving threats is not ok, it’s terrible. I don’t agree with any that.
Also hold back on your insults for some other platform.
Great they did the right thing but he influenced the outcome of the game. Maybe we win by 2 or 3 if we had MLS for the full 90 minutes and what if we are level with Liverpool in May and it comes down to goal difference? It happened in ‘89…
They probably should have just rescinded it first thing on Monday instead of doubling down. Made themselves look very silly indeed as the result of an appeal by the (presumably) independent panel was only going to go one way.
It would be interesting to know if the PGMOL actually had the power to rescind it or whether it had to go through the independent panel procedural. I suspect that was out genuinely of their jurisdiction. Where questions have to be asked, however, is why the PGMOL were allowed to do their little briefing and sky sports news statement on Monday justifying the decision, as I can’t see any other purpose than attempting to influence an independent panel pending the appeal. In a lot of other industries this action would be subject to serious consideration regarding potential vested interests, bias… Read more »
You are correct sir, they are apparently not able to rescind.
They can’t rescind, which is why it is even more baffling that they would come out doubling down on the original decision. The appeal went in this morning and the red card was dismissed this afternoon, which gives an idea of how easy it was for the independent panel to come to their conclusion (which, of course, was obvious to everybody except the PiGMOLes). All the PiGMOLes have done is emphasize how irretrievably incompetent they are.
They rescinded Bruno Fernandes’ red card earlier in the season. I’m pretty sure they can could have rescinded MLS’s too
‘silly’ is a very kind way of saying dodgy c*nts.
They’ll come after us for this though.
Was so disappointing to see Second Captains, which Andrew put me onto, go down the “well I can see how it’s red” route. Their Arsenal coverage this year has been very snide – finally had to end my subscription.
Way to go Charles. Hope you did too for sky. Pathetic lot.
I am very tempted to bin my sky subscription, all banging on about how Michael Oliver isn’t in the wrong. Cause he is you mugs!
Sky is the worst of the lot…on the scale of 1 to 10 biased British media , they are 10 in my book…
Have given up mine, And told them that it is due to their bias.
Is that the guy who, a couple seasons ago, said Arteta wasn’t sure what formation he wants to play and that spurs were going to be really good because they signed Richarlison?
Pretty sure he also said Arteta only signed small players despite us having the most physical Arsenal team ever maybe.
Irish rugby dad energy off that lot, posh boy boot-lickers for the status-quo, they’ll instinctively side with the PTB in any scenario given half the chance.
Irish media types have always been weirdly anti-arsenal, despite the preponderance of Irish players; Brady, O’Leary, Rice… 🙃
They love Liverpool and Man U though…
Yeah same here. Ken Early just loves the sound of his own voice and that Murph lad does nothing but sneer at everything not just Arsenal fucking everything!
You nailed it on Early. That flute swallowed a thesaurus.
Yeah I thought exactly the same mate. It was Arseblog which turned me on to SC in the first place, and though I try to keep a non-partisan head for most analysis, the coverage does feel snide this season, like pretty surface level sniggering analysis. You’d think we were 8th in the league or something. You expect it from Murph and Comrade Branno, but not Ken.
I’ve always struggled with Second Captains. Blogs is clearly a fan, but whenever he has Ken Early on his season preview pod, I can hear the barely disguised disdain Early has for Arsenal. At best he’ll damn us with faint, somewhat patronising praise. It’s always a bit of a painful listen, because Andrew seems so pleased to have him as an annual guest.
MLS hattrick incoming vs Newcastle in the second leg,
I just hope this makes all refs and PGMOL think twice before giving anymore shit decisions against us this season.
Sadly it’s probably going to do the opposite.
Sadly, I find myself more in agreement with Alberto than Uzes. Sigh.
😥😢😢
Yeah, sadly I think there’ll be more of them. Even if cards can be rescinded it’s only after the fact so we could have a man sent off, lose the game then have the card rescinded and where’s the justice in that?
They can always make dodgy free kick and penalty decisions against us too.
We’ve had some rough decisions from refs over the years but this year really feels more than ever that they’re out for us. It feels like the dodgy Newcastle goal last season really set the precedent.
Mike dipsy Dean said that this would happen as the panel is made up of ex pros and coaches. Yes people who know more about the game than refs and don’t stick up for their mate.
I just can’t help wondering what if we’d lost the game. Would they have ordered a rematch?
Doubtful would be my thought…
No, they wouldn’t
Don’t be silly.
Did they do anything after admitting fault at Newcastle last year? Or brentford?
Brunos red against Spuds was rescinded. They lost, no replay. So no is the answer.
Isn’t this kind of a big deal that the ref on the field got it wrong, the VAR got it wrong to not intervene and then the PGMOL refused to admit their mistake despite an overwhelming agreement it was bs? When Dermot and Dale both agree that it was a yellow and you refuse to admit a mistake, then wtf are we even doing here??
The PGMOL has absolutely no humility, which explains why they can’t learn. They already think they can do no wrong.
Its corruption
Remember when Balotelli went knee high studs up on Sagna?
It was grevious bodily harm and it was also -“only” a yellow- which could not be reviewed or over-turned to red because the ref saw it and some background panel of twits implemented bullshit rules to protect the criminal enterprise that is PGMOL
Yes it was happening back then, and in another 15yrs it will still be happening.
We need change!
If not the people, then the game deserves much better.
Someone needs to go deep undercover in the PGMOL and do an expose. Little secret camera I recon you’d have a ton of evidence within a week given how stupid and pompous they are.
Typically, once every c. 3 to 4 weeks Webb sits down with Michael Owen, presents his views on decisions as facts and, typically for the really contentious decisions releases the audio used to inform it. The next TV show should be due no later than Tuesday next week and it will be exceptionally interesting to know a) Does it even go ahead? b) If it does, does this incident get covered?, c) If the incident gets covered, does Webb admit they got it wrong?, d) does the audio get released in the analysis? I would be utterly staggered if it… Read more »
The refs are cunts. They all need to go. Every last one of them. Lifetime ban! Then the PGMOL needs dismantling and to be investigated by police. Anyone linked with financial improprieties must be charged and sentenced followed by a lifetime ban from football.
After that a new organisation can be created. One that is fair, transparent and accountable. In other words an officiating body befitting of the biggest league in the world.
Oh and while we’re at it, deport Mike Dean to a remote island where well never hear or see his cunty likeness again.
Which brings me to why I’m conflicted at this point. I don’t quite know which is it. Incompetence? Corruption? Asininity? Whatever it is, one thing is clear ;they’re not fit for purpose.
Totally ready for the scrap heap.
We won the match.
We won the appeal.
Why am I still so pissed off about it?
Because its no longer just about our Arsenal.
This is hurting our game and the league we compete in
Because it’s just another in a line of wrongful dismissals and other wrongs committed against us by this body, and this is a rare case where the wrong has been righted, and it doesn’t feel like it will have much influence if at all on the long term trend.
Only potential good thing is that if you and I and all the fans are angry, imagine how much the players and staff are. Hope we see that anger fuel them on the pitch.
This is the answer
Surely he can’t ref any of our games again?
You’d think he’d be taken off major game duty for a while. However, I’ve just seen he’s apparently been given the Merseyside derby!
Ooh Michael… you naughty boy.
The PGMOL might use Oliver’s “personal safety” as a reason not to put him in charge of our matches for a while.
Better that way!
No apology?
Go fcuk yourselves
Michael Oliver, D England, Howard Webb, and the rest of PGMOL
Yeah only comment comes from the premier League, says everything !!
Right outcome eventually got to, just 3.5 days later. For me refs can make mistakes, it’s part of the game.. what shouldn’t happen is those mistakes are then double downed on by VAR and triple downed after the game when the PGMOL don’t take action. For everything to then be confirmed the very same day as our appeal went in for it to be a bad call. Three opportunities to fix, not one taken.
I know this next comment may get hate, but I feel somewhat sorry for Michael Oliver on this occasion.. he’s been let down by the supporting team in not being allowed to view it again. I maintain that if he did, he would have changed his mind. Here lies the issue with the process.. they’re scared to say they got it wrong, and scared to go against the ref.
Does he get let down a lot, seems to regularly screw us over.
I can’t feel sorry for him, his red card was out before the wolves player hit the floor (slight exaggeration).
Let us not forget what he did to Martinelli with those 2 yellow cards in the same action.Mean spirited Unprecedented. Why does the guy hate us so much?
And how he chose not to give Kovacic a red card when that was the most obvious decision to make.
I honestly doubt that he’d have had the humility to change his mind even if the VAR had had the balls to ask him to look again. He couldn’t have cared less whether it was right or wrong. It was an opportunity to send off an Arsenal player.
Nah man, this guy is real evil..
He always, always screws us over when he gets a tenth of a chance
Howard Webbs’ LAP DOG!!
Michael Oliver would not have changed his mind. His hatred of Arsenal and the size of his ego wouldn’t let him.
He could have given a yellow then VAR reviews it. It was an opportunity for the ref to reduce Arsenal to ten men and so likely influence the game and at the very least further knacker an injury hit squad . He went for it like a shark and PGMOL and their cheerleaders doubled down on it. Remember the ” you can stick the two points up your Ar$€ ” chant in 1991? There should be a relentless “show the red card to PGMOL” campaign for the rest of the season. As with all things, you have to question power… Read more »
I come in peace, but you’re giving “England’s Best Ref” far too much credit here. Recall Martinelli’s 2 yellows in the same passage of play?
I do remember that. I also remember seeing many times a weekend where a player persistently fouls an opponent from sideline to the center of the pitch and not even one foul is called, much less a card of any color brandished. And how many times do you see play brought to a halt through ball movement or blocking the restart? Its insane. I’d like to see PGMOL comment on a video of Michael Oliver’s worst call against us and omissions against our opponents. Alternately. strap Oliver into a chair, introduce sodium pentathol into his system and question him at… Read more »
No hate from me but it’s a bit like excusing someone working for Stasi who got a report on a citizen wrong but it was then out if his hands to rectify it as it had already landed on Erich Mielke’s desk where it had been rubber stamped.
PGMOL are the Stasi of the PL, oppressive, omnipotent and destructive. Howard Webb is the Erich Mielke of the PL, i.e. an absolute cunt who’s been getting away with murder for decades.
This made me chuckle, particularly the i.e. at the end. I agree with all the comments that his track record with us is awful, and the big decisions really do stick out – but this was the first one of his big decisions that went against us that could have been overturned and wasn’t… I guess maybe in my mind it’s worse for someone to make that mistake when they can slow it down, speed it up and watch it from all angles rather than someone who makes a call (a bad one of course) in real time. This doesn’t… Read more »
Blimey I thought the pgmol could not go any lower than Riley I was wrong.
Question: The United Kingdom has a Ministry of Sport. That type of thing is foreign–literally and figuratively–to Americans, but since it exists, why can reform not be redressed to the Ministry? English football refereeing is so poor across the board, and it has consequences that end up being economic. (If memory serves, Villa stayed up on a bad call when they should have gone down just a few seasons ago I forgot who dropped in their stead, but the economic ramifications on that club in particular and its community in general were indubitably material.) So doesn’t the Ministry have a… Read more »
No they exist solely to give government stamps to private equity who are profiting from Sports/Entertainment, not to involve themselves in Sports governance itself.
They are literally a law unto themselves. The Paunchy Grouchy Men Of (north of ) Luton.
Well, that’s a shame.
But your nod to “Rich Men North of Richmond” is ace.
The government are about to create a regulator, and if that regulator is worth anything the first thing they will look at is the terrible refereeing standards. PGMOL have been pretty well untouchable up to now, but they may have overstepped the mark with this one. All football fans need to call out bad decisions against all clubs, and if we can get past the tribalism then maybe there’s a chance of something being done about it. I’m not holding my breath though.
That’s just it, Vonnie
I don’t believe football fans can get past the tribalism on this one.
Liverpool fans, in particular, are salty that Arteta never backed them when they had a poor decision go against them.
Apparently Teta dismissed giving an opinion when he was asked about it.
Petty shit like that, leads me to believe that there is too much spite to see another super league protest moment
We also had a Ministry of Silly Walks way back when.. (M.Python) so it could be that the time’s right for a rejuvenation and fusion with PGMOL..
“Monty Python and the Holy Invincibles Trophy”
“Monty Python’s Flying Dutchman Circus”
“Life of Titi”
“The Meaning of Footballistically”
There’s a paradox in your point. Sport is not material. That’s the point of it. Literally. It’s meaningless but entertaining. Like if you and I put a cup at the end of the room and see how many marbles each of us can chuck into it from 6 feet away. Doesn’t really matter does it? But human beings are gripped by this sort of thing. Now if you and I turn that into a multi-billion pound business employing thousands of people on the weekend, doesn’t make it material (in my opinion). It just means it’s been distorted. That was one… Read more »
Get to crawlin’
I still blame VAR more than Oliver on this one. How they didn’t tell him to have a look on the monitor for a trip is amazing.
And now Var muppet Darren England has Bournemouth v Liverpool this weekend …. oh dear
I thought D England was a Liverpool fan? No?
Cue late penalty when Diaz lies down and thinks of England … honest Mike Dean needs to come bk … never thought I’d say that.
I’m surprised Oliver didn’t think to give him a yellow for the trip and then another for reacting badly or something. Two yellows in quick succession can’t be contested. Or maybe he thought “ I’ve already used that trick. Could be suspect”.
No respect for him or any premier league refs.
The audio exchange on this will be fascinating, will be so interesting to see whether we ever get access to it or, indeed, whether the panel had access to it as part of their decision making.
“good process”
Heh. Seems like the Independent Commission had one!
“Lads, let’s start with a straw poll. Is anyone going to even attempt to argue this was a red card? Thought not. Let’s wait a couple of hours for appearance sake and then issue our reversal of this garbage.”
The lad was wrongly punished, what’s happened to the ref and the VAR officials responsible ( er… could it be nothing at all)??
Im sure they got bonuses for trying
Great news! Now send Michael Oliver off to referee the in National League for the rest of the season.
Then sack him.
😀
That is exactly the sort of medicine that should be dealt out….
2 strikes, and off you go to the
pub-league.
The game and its worth is now in the billions, but we have muppets on 100k a year governing our games..
Of course i smell bribes being taken
That is exactly it. A city being in or out of the PL alters an entire regions economy. That’s how big it’s become and as such the PL is serious business. No way is this biased and unprofessional jobs for the boys club fit to handle such a level of responsibility.
Send him off to the UAE with a one-way ticket.
Slightly off topic , I did read that Keith Hackett former head of referees thinks Michael Oliver gave Gomes a second yellow because a straight red can be appealed but 2 yellows can’t be appealed , the difference will all know 1 game or 3 game ban .
Defending MO ?
Howard Webb is the issue. He sets the culture of PGMOL. His is the ultimate responsibility. He can reflect and support his officials by saying they made a mistake in the heat of the moment, but he seems incapable of accepting culpability!
That’s it.
LANS
What a nightmare week for PGMOL. Hopefully they overcorrect with us till the end of the season 😂
🐖🪽
People say players have to be role models to kids. What kid watching people shrink from responsibility, honesty and even when caught saying “nah. I’m right”. What does that kid learn?
Shameful.
Love this comment
Never looked at it from that point of view. 👏
Thank God for honest people in the world. That sending off was injustice of the highest level.
A real opportunity missed by PGMOL. Ref’s make bad calls & (somehow, though I’m baffled as to how) VAR too. Rather than waiting for Arsenal to appeal it should have been rescinded Monday morning with an apology. An accompanying statement
by Oliver along the lines that though at the time it appeared a dangerous challenge he now realises that he made a mistake, would have been a great PR move rather than the ridicule & ill feeling they brought on the organisation by their doubling down on what was clearly not a red card.
They can’t rescind on their own, it has to go to an independent panel to be rescinded. But everything else you have said is spot on. Instead of shooting off their mouthes this morning and having to eat crow this afternoon, they could simply have said “We will have more to say after the appeal is heard” and then issue an appropriate statement afterwards admitting their mistake. But no, they had to insist how right they were even when it was obvious to the world that they were wrong. They have now been hoist by their own petard. They had… Read more »
They have no integrity, and yet passed up the chance not to salvage whatever little dignity they have left.
What if we had lost that game due to this dubious red card.
PGMOL will give us a useless apology after making us to lose 3 points and the title race effectively over for Arsenal.
Among many other things, PGMOL is the reason Arteta hasn’t been successful at Arsenal with a title.
I just can’t stomach this anymore.
Are we ever going to win this league with this cartel bent on making Arsenal fail year after year?
Yawwwwk
See what happens when you involve an independent body in this? How about changing VAR so it’s administered by an independent group? My issue isn’t with the concept of VAR, it’s with its mandate (was it a clear and obvious error?), how it is administered (the on-field referee should use it as a to to assist him in making the right decision), and who runs it (PGMOL). if it was run by an independent body comprised of people who know the game (preferably former players) and whose mandate is to get the call right, I think we would see a… Read more »
one of the statements i found most interesting was the abuse Oliver received was intolerable. Well of course it shouldn’t happen but complaining about it makes the pgmol sound like an old lady. Grow a pair.
happy for mls.
as an American I find the regional concentration and distrust of officials interesting. Don’t recall seeing that here.which is not to say there are not sub performing officials and there are coaches and officials who do not like each other. But nothing is ever regional
I have said on here a few times, there are ten million people living in greater London and not one ref in the pgmol from the area.????
Did they not say how many of the 5 voted to overturn it? Wonder why they would leave that out..?
Thankfully we didn’t drop points due to that awful decision like we did in the three previous matches with red cards to our players.
The PGMOL might have got easier ride on this one, if they hadn’t enforced the bizarre delaying the restart rule so selectively. They always do this at the beginning of each season and then let it drop. This year it cost us 4 points and now they don’t punish other teams evenly.
Great example of PGMOL in breach of their contract yet again. Nullify it already.
Michael Oliver and Chris Carvanag should be suspended from officiating or severely warned of their future conduct towards officiating of Arsenal games.
Great news. Now, Barry Glendenning, please go do one.
Did Glendenning say it was a justified red card? I know he is biased against Arsenal, but that would be a really bad take, even for him.
It’s been very odd—he literally said the PGMOL was “Trumpian” and “Orwellian” in telling us not to believe our eyes in saying it was a justified red card. Which, correct!
Then, out the other side of his mouth, he said, “ people claiming there is a reffing conspiracy against Arsenal on various platforms are massively influential and have huge audiences. I think they need to be pulled up on what I think is childish, paranoid bullshit.”
That individual is a boorish wind-up merchant. Pity anyone who has to hear or read his ‘opinions’!
Points we’ve arguably lost due to incompetent and vendetta-based refereeing this season:
Brighton (h) 2 – Rice sending off
Man City (a) 2 – Trossard sending off
Bournemouth (a) 3 – Saliba sending off
Brighton (a) 2 – Saliba penalty
9 points.
We’d be 3 points ahead of Liverpool having played a game more and despite a severe injury crisis.
And I’m supposed to feel grateful that at last one decision gets appealed and overturned?
The Liverpool game itself had a few controversial decisions too, I feel.
I would count the Bournemouth game as only 1 point stolen, since we were pretty dire even before the red card.
I’m still of opinion that idiotic referees and injuries are two biggest factors behind why we’re not meeting the expectations this season. So basically, things that are largely out of our control.
Yet we’re sitting 2nd in PL and 3rd in CL.
(Just to make sure, I’m not saying everything is completely perfect).
Now cut to the guy from the comment section who said we have no chance appealing this one and he’s doing this site a service so that it doesn’t become an echo chamber.
👊🏾👊🏾👊🏾
Restores a bit of faith in the FA, shame about Webb (head nob aka nob head), Oliver (corrupt) and England (spineless gimp)
Just to add a different observation , anyone heard a dickybird regarding the little shit Bernardo Silva , nothing on his shocking from behind tackle 🤔
Holy shit thank god
City don’t care, the damage has been done and physically the players are exhausted for the fourth time this season…
Feels like the rotational fouling by Pgmol, referees, var, fixture list, sky, certain pundits
I’m.stunned..never in a million years did I think they would overturn this and hang Oliver out to dry for the cheating prick he clearly is.
Same.
The Video Affirmation Referee system seems pretty pointless.
I am afraid we are going to see a lot of double yellows like in the starting of the season. It’s going to be very tricky! And cannot be contested like a red too. again, what’s the point of winning an appeal after the fact. what if we had lost or drawn this game??
The red card was absolutely wrong. But was your tantrum when doing player ratings right?
I seriously doubt it.
I stand by it: fuck Michael Oliver.
Of course you do. It’s really the only grown up thing to do. Right? Brave too. Add on to the internet pile on.
😘
Oh Dear…. 🤣😂🤣
Who were the journalists defending the decision?
I get the vibes of a union which in it’s efforts to protect it’s members (and of corse, even when they err), actually are destructive to the sector in which their members operate.
They become like an allergy – an over-active immune system, which over-reacts and only refer to internal logic…
Anyway. Maybe just too much of an anlogy. Fuck MO!