Neville blames Arteta for Michael Oliver abuse as Arsenal ‘corruption’ narrative ‘inflamed for 12 months’

Gary Neville believes Mikel Arteta is to blame for “inflaming” Arsenal fans’ hostility towards referees after Michael Oliver was abused this week.
Oliver received death threats in the wake of Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Wolves after he sent Myles Lewis-Skelly off, with the red card later overturned.
Speaking about the angry reaction to Oliver’s performance, Neville claimed the language used by Arteta and prominent fans has played a significant role in the dangerous increase in accusations of corruption.
READ MORE: Arsenal fans and media must share blame for Michael Oliver death threats
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, Neville said: “They [Arsenal fans] use language like corruption, which means they think he’s getting paid and bought off – which is obviously not the case.
“We [at Manchester United] lived in a club which created a siege mentality about the referees. Arsenal are doing a bit of that as well – there’s no doubt that what Arsenal do is inflame the situation after the game rather than calm it down, they’ve done that for 12 months – but we can’t say that’s wrong having played in the dressing room that we did.
“The difference is now with social media, when we were playing back in the day and doing similar things with referees, we weren’t inflaming what would be a cause of corruption on social media.
“Now you have a sway of Arsenal’s anger, which comes from the players and from Mikel Arteta, and prominent fans. You now have a social media wave now which goes towards [allegations of] corruption and cheating. In our day, we couldn’t have that much influence – everyone was at home without a phone, and didn’t have Twitter.”
MORE ARSENAL COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Arsenal 5th), Barcelona 3rd): Marcus Rashford’s six end-of-window outcomes ranked on likelihood
👉 Aston Villa ‘furious’ with Arsenal over Watkins bid for two reasons as striker nears £63m exit
👉 ‘Arsenal need a real striker’ – Pires tells former club to sign ‘world-class’ player to win the PL
Former PGMOL chief Keith Hackett suggested that Oliver should be removed from officiating for a short period.
He said: “I’d be saying to Michael Oliver, I think you need a rest and I think you’re not going to see another game in the Premier League for a couple of weeks.”
Oliver has chosen to continue officiating and will take charge of Ipswich vs Southampton on Saturday, but has not been selected for Arsenal’s high-profile clash with Manchester City on Sunday.
Neville strongly rejected the idea that Oliver could be influenced by external pressures.
He added: “I hate the idea of a referee being taken off a game. He [Michael Oliver] is the best referee in the country, and the idea that he would go into that game on Sunday and be swayed towards Manchester City – he’s not going to do that, he’s a professional.”