Police are investigating 'threats' made to Michael Oliver and his family after the Geordie referee controversially sent off Arsenal defender Myles Lewis-Skelly.

The PGMOL were left 'appalled by the threats and abuse' after Oliver and those closest to the official were subject to 'abhorrent attacks' following the flashpoint at Molineux. Oliver sent Lewis-Skelly off after the youngster caught Matt Doherty above the ankle 70 yards from goal as Wolves broke forward from an Arsenal corner. It was never a sending off - Mikel Arteta was left 'absolutely fuming' with the decision - but the VAR, Darren England, bizarrely, did not even order Oliver to take a second look.

A leading Arsenal fan account claimed there was a 'conspiracy' against the Gunners and wildly suggested that Oliver was influenced by his allegiances ahead of Arteta's side facing Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg at St James' Park next week. That did not go unnoticed by pundit Jamie Carragher as part of a wider trend in the game.

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"Do we want the standards raised? Of course we do," the Liverpool legend told Sky Sports. "We always want it to be better.

"That doesn't mean we can't critique referees and expect higher standards. When it's a poor decision, we have got to push for that, but there's a line you can't cross and this situation all stems from social media.

"I'm quite active on social media, but the stuff I see from every set of supporters - this is not just Arsenal supporters yesterday - is tiresome and I include my own club, Liverpool. Listening to them talking about referees and always thinking that their team are the ones who are always getting wronged and there's a conspiracy and they're corrupt against their team, it's embarrassing to see people actually speaking like that."