Arne Slot Faces FA Wrath Over Alleged Referee Rant After Everton Draw

Liverpool boss Arne Slot faces a two-match touchline ban and a £70,000 fine after the Football Association charged him over an explosive exchange with referee Michael Oliver following last month’s draw with Everton.

The FA alleges Slot told Oliver, “if we don’t win the league, I’ll f—ing blame you,” in the chaotic aftermath of the Merseyside derby, where a late Everton goal sparked a melee, earning red cards for Curtis Jones and Abdoulaye Doucouré.

Slot admitted to “improper manner and/or used insulting and/or abusive words and/or behaviour” towards Oliver and an assistant referee, accepting the charges alongside a £7,000 fine for assistant Sipke Hulshoff, who was also sent off.

The FA report claims Slot said, “the referee had f—ing give them everything” and hoped Oliver “was proud of that performance,” while telling the assistant it was a “f—ing disgrace.” Hulshoff allegedly echoed, calling Oliver “f—ing s—” and a “f—ing disgrace” who “gave them everything.”

Slot reflected on Tuesday before facing Paris Saint-Germain: “What I said also in the written report and I can say it one more time, the moment it happened I was quite emotional for everything that happened in the last seven or eight minutes and maybe during the whole game. I chose to go on pitch instead of staying calm staying inside and then talking to Michael. Now I don’t have the same emotions anymore so I think I should set a better example than I set back then and don’t go into the situation again. It’s clear what I’ve written and what Michael has written. Michael has been in the news quite a lot recently and I don’t think it helps if I add something to that now I have my emotions under control.”

Slot disputes the exact words, claiming he said, “if we don’t win the league, I will have you to thank for that,” but in the report, he concedes his actions were “unacceptable” and “let his frustrations get the better of him.” His initial three-match ban dropped to two after his apology.