In the moments after Liverpool defeated Manchester City at Anfield last November, City’s esteemed manager Pep Guardiola went onto the field, shook hands with a few of LFC’s players, patted Reds goalkeeper Alisson Becker on the chest and then turned to approach the game officials. Referee Michael Oliver stood, waiting.
Guardiola extended his arm for a handshake. It was not a typical shake. There was a statement in its aggression, and if the statement were not clear, the mocking “Thank you so much!” he said once to Oliver, then repeated, made clear his displeasure.
As is examined in the third episode of “Countdown,” which carries the title “Pressure,” working in the Premier League can be a harrowing job for players, managers and certainly referees. And this is true even with the advent of VAR, the replay system that led to Guardiola’s frustration with a 3-1 loss to LFC. In fact, VAR might even heighten the intensity.
The decision not to call a handball against the Reds’ Trent Alexander-Arnold in the first half, just before teammate Fabinho opened the scoring with a sizzling shot from outside the box, agitated many Manchester City fans and, obviously, the man in charge.
And Oliver was back in a controversial circumstance as the Premier League returned Wednesday, when Sheffield United’s Oliver Norwood sent a cross through the Aston Villa box and Villa goalkeeper Orjan Nyland caught it and stumbled backward, only the side netting inside the goal preventing him from tumbling to the turf. He clearly carried the ball across the line, but the wrist monitor that is supposed to signal to Oliver a goal should be awarded did not signal him. And he chose to trust that rather than hold the action to see if a VAR review would confirm that.
“It’s still human error,” former Arsenal star Ian Wright says in the program. “The person who’s checking it, you know the pressure these guys are under. Because we’re seeing them make mistakes which are unacceptable. Because VAR is meant to be here so you don’t make those mistakes.”
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