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Remember the name Michael Oliver, because if United do not win the Premier League it will be because of one of the worst refereeing displays ever seen in Premier League football. They say that Roman Abramovich bought the title when he spent over a £1bn on players to win the Premier League. However, you wonder if his troubles may have been uppermost in the mid of a referee who consistently let Swansea defenders manhandle Van Persie without any reproach.
I lost count of how many times Van Persie was brought down from behind with rugby tackles from desperate defenders, obviously following a plan to stop the striker from scoring. Add to that, a string of valid penalty claims and you get a picture of an official on a mission; to stop United from progressing any further in the Premier League title race.
Michael Oliver looks like a rookie and acts like a rookie. Every 50/50 decision went the way of Swansea. When Paul Scholes came on at the end, he was given a yellow card for the very first foul, and an innocuous one at that.
If this game had been played in Spain, Swansea could well have been down to eight players such was the ferocity of their attacks on Van Persie. Here in England, we like to suggest that our referees are the best and that those in Europe are somehow inferior. However, having spent a life time watching La Liga in Spain, I can confirm that the referees in Europe are more impartial and fair in their decisions.
Michael Oliver’s display should see him refereeing a Sunday league match next week, but do not hold your breath. The hierarchy at the FA will be well pleased with United`s demise, along with the bigoted media we have in the UK.
And people say Americans are deluded about soccer, truly excellent article