Arsenal have won their appeal against Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card at Wolves, with the Football Association confirming that an independent regulatory commission had “upheld the claim of wrongful dismissal” and removed his three-match ban.
The 18-year-old was shown a straight red card by the referee Michael Oliver in the first half of Arsenal’s 1-0 win after bringing down Matt Doherty in his own half, becoming the third-youngest player to be dismissed in Premier League history. Mikel Arteta said he was “absolutely fuming” with the decision, which was checked and confirmed by the video assistant referee, Darren England.
Arsenal appealed on Tuesday afternoon and were informed within hours that it had been successful.
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“An independent regulatory commission has upheld a claim of wrongful dismissal in relation to Myles Lewis-Skelly and removed his three-match suspension,” a statement from the FA said. “The Arsenal player was sent off for serious foul play during their Premier League fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, January 25, 2025.”
The referees’ body, Professional Game Match Officials Limited, said it was appalled by the “abhorrent abuse”, including death threats, that Oliver and his family have received since the game. The 39-year-old’s home is reportedly under police guard.
He will not take charge of Arsenal’s game at home against Manchester City on Sunday but will officiate Ipswich v Southampton on Saturday. Before that, Oliver will be in charge for the Champions League match between Barcelona and Atalanta on Wednesday night, when Arsenal travel to Girona.
Lewis-Skelly’s red card was the fourth Arsenal have received this season, although Arteta had expressed confidence it would be rescinded without an appeal, as occurred when a Bruno Fernandes red card against Tottenham overturned earlier in the season.
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“I am absolutely fuming but I leave it with you,” he said. “I think it is that obvious that we don’t need any comment today and hopefully the right thing will happen. There is a really good precedent, what happened with Bruno this season as well. OK, we were in a position that we shouldn’t be in, at least let’s be in a position that we should be in for the next few weeks and allow that player to continue to his job.”