Liverpool’s Slot Faces Backlash for Expletive-Laden Referee Rant

Claiming the official would be responsible should the Premier League leaders fail to win the title, Liverpool manager Arne Slot has been accused of throwing an expletive-filled rant at referee Michael Oliver.

After confronting Oliver on the pitch during Liverpool’s tempestuous 2-2 draw against Merseyside rivals Everton in February, Slot and his assistant Sipke Hulshoff were both issued red cards.

With Liverpool player Curtis Jones sent off for scuffing following the last whistle, James Tarkowski scored the Toffees’ equaliser deep into stoppage time. An independent regulatory commission punished Slot and Hulshoff for their actions and issued two-match touch-line suspensions.

Oliver

Oliver’s match report was sent to the panel, and he claimed in it a “confrontational and aggressive” Slot had thought he “was proud of that performance” and informed the official he had “given them everything”.

Oliver said: “If we don´t win the league, I´ll blame you.” Slots returned to carry on the X-rated blast.

Slot acknowledged the claims but said he said: “If we don´t win the league, I will have you to thank for that”. The FA kept Slot’s phrasing and terms as stated by Oliver; the divergence had no substantive bearing on the sentence.

Slot agreed that his actions were wrong and that he had let frustration control him because he thought important decisions had not gone Liverpool’s way at Goodison Park. Serving the first game of his punishment against Newcastle last week, the 46-year-old Dutchman has now apologised both personally and publicly to Oliver.

“Arne Slot is a role model and should be exercising good discipline both on and off the pitch, and setting an example to his players,” the commission remarked. “His actions did not provide the positive image of the game that the governing bodies strive for.”

Liverpool is now 13 points clear of second-placed Arsenal as they near a record-equalling 20th English crown, even with their dropped points at Everton. Wednesday marks their return in action in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 match against Paris Saint-Germain.