Premier League wait a pain for Michael Oliver

Posted by The Journal on Feb 4, 10 08:55 AM in Sport

Michael Oliver Ashington's Michael Oliver has had his bid to become the Premier League's youngest referee thwarted for a second time in a month.

The 24-year-old has been due to referee Fulham v Portsmouth on January 9, only for the game to fall foul of the cold snap which decimated that weekend's programme.

Now he has been ruled out for two to three months with an ankle injury.

Oliver has had two screws inserted in his ankle after discovering he had been refereeing for two months while it was broken.

The Newcastle United supporter has Sunderland to thank for spotting the problem, and he will receive treatment with the Wearside club.

Oliver mentioned he was suffering discomfort in his ankle to friend David Binningsley, a physiotherapist at Sunderland, who referred him for CT scans.

They highlighted the problem and Oliver was told to rest until it healed, expected to be around eight to 12 weeks.

Oliver received the news only days before last night's rearranged game between Fulham and Pompey. It was refereed by Anthony Taylor, who was making his own Premier League debut.

The controversial Stuart Attwell holds the record as the youngest Premier League referee.

He was 25 years and 322 days when he officiated Blackburn Rovers v Hull City in August 2008. Oliver turns 25 on February 20.

Oliver has been fast-tracked by the authorities since he began refereeing junior football aged 14.

He has already acted as fourth official in numerous top-flight matches, where an injury would have seen him take over in the middle.

Assuming he is able to break the record, it will add to a string of landmarks for the youngster.

Oliver made history as the youngest linesman, then referee in the Conference and the Football League, the youngest referee to appear at the new Wembley and to be a Premier League fourth official.

His dad, Clive, is also a professional Football League referee.

We'd like to hear from you.
Send your stories, pics and videos to northumberland@ncjmedia.co.uk

Older/Newer

« Schools battle in county badminton finals | Ashington pupils working hard to improve reserve »

1 Comments

Andrew Johnson said:

Unfortunately, the future career of this adolescent referee will be forever blighted. His first year as the principal official at this level has been dogged by poor judgement, poor observation, and a complete and abject failure to comprehend the role of the Referee.

That he should be invisible to the spectator, who have paid good money to witness a footballing masterpiece is a concept which evidently evades him.

Unfortunately, it would seem - especially in front of the TV cameras - that he believes himself to be the star of the show, and consequently the concept of entertainment is pure anethema to him.

November 14, 2010 1:44 PM