Michael Oliver has been revealed as the referee who will oversee Liverpool’s FA Cup quarter-final clash versus Manchester City, and this development will be unwelcome news for Arne Slot.
Liverpool‘s FA Cup showdown with Pep Guardiola’s men is arguably the pick of the ties when scanning over all the quarter finals happening over the bumper Easter Weekend.
Of course, eyes will firmly be on Stamford Bridge to see if League One Port Vale can upset Chelsea on their own turf, as well as on St. Mary’s as Southampton welcome Premier League leaders Arsenal.
But the Etihad is the place to be on Saturday lunchtime, as Guardiola’s hosts, and the travelling Reds, officially kick off the quarter finals.
Slot side will hope they can go all the way in this year’s competition, having last won the esteemed honour in 2022.
For City, it could be another trip to Wembley, right after easing past Arsenal 2-0 in the EFL Cup final.
With Slot at the helm, Liverpool have overcome City on their patch, with a 2-0 victory picked up last year, helping the Dutchman hoist the Premier League title aloft during his debut season at the helm.
He will be hoping for an equally calm afternoon, but he will no doubt have been irritated when reading that Michael Oliver will be the referee for this FA Cup clash, as the ex-Feyenoord manager has an unwanted history with the English official.
Slot’s unwanted history with Oliver
Slot has often come across as a composed figure in press conferences this season, even when the pressure has been ramped up, during some testing times for the Reds.
Yet, last season, the Premier League title winner showed off more of his aggravated side during one particular match, which was Liverpool’s heated Merseyside Derby clash against Everton, away at Goodison Park.
The final scoreline was 2-2 between the two bitter rivals, as the Toffees scored a dramatic late equaliser, which went to VAR.
Slot was clearly incensed by this decision, and he took to the pitch to voice his frustrations at Oliver, leading to the head coach being handed a red card post-match.
Alleged to have sworn at the referee in the altercation, Slot ended up being fined £70,000 and was handed a two-match touchline ban for his rash outburst.
Eventually apologising for the actions, Slot stated: “The moment it happened, I was quite emotional [about] everything that happened in the game.
“I chose to go on the pitch instead of staying calm and staying inside to talk to Michael [Oliver]. I don’t have these emotions now so I should set a better example.”
Hopefully, no controversial calls sour the match to come at the Etihad, or the rarely impassioned head coach could be storming onto another turf to give Oliver another piece of his mind.
