Mikel Arteta says football must work harder to rid “hatred” from the sport in the wake of the abuse referee Michael Oliver has received.
Oliver has been the subject of abuse after he sent off defender Myles Lewis-Skelly during Arsenal’s win at Wolves on Saturday.
Lewis-Skelly was shown a red card by Oliver, which was was upheld by VAR Darren England, after he tripped Wolves defender Matt Doherty.
The decision to send off Lewis-Skelly was met with almost universal criticism from pundits and commentators, while the teenager’s three-game ban was overturned by an independent regulatory commission on Tuesday.
Oliver has been targeted by abuse since the weekend, with referees’ body PGMOL confirming the police are investigating.
Arteta has spoken out against abuse in football earlier this month, in the wake of Kai Havertz and his wife being targeted online, and he has called for more work to be done after this last episode with Oliver.
“For everyone in football, you should not be permitted [to do that],” he said. “We don’t want it, we don’t need it and it certainly damages our sport. Let’s get it out.
“Regardless of whether it is a player or a coach, a referee - it does not matter. We have to really work harder to try to eradicate that part of the game that brings nothing but bad stuff, bad taste and it makes people’s lives more difficult. Let’s get it out, let’s kick it out.
“We’re always putting a lot of emphasis on where football is going in the next five, ten years; on the rules, and all that sort of thing.
“But I think one of the most important things we can do is create an environment that’s much better at a social level: one that’s healthier, that’s nicer, in which we reward things that are not only winning, that when people make mistakes they have the chance to fix it.
“We shouldn’t be here with this hatred, these things we see, because they affect everyone and in the end, they take away the joy of this sport, the reason for it: which is enjoy ourselves, have good moments.”
Asked how the abuse can be tackled by football, Arteta added: “First of all, spending more time making the right decisions with the right people to get it out.
“And then putting, like the same we have put in laws and measures and regulation in that kind of thing, they do that, why we haven’t done it?
“We are all talking about it, but no one seems to be moving strongly enough and bringing people with them to get that out of the game, because it’s just unacceptable.”
