English referee Michael Oliver was seen singing along to football chants as he attended England's Euro 2020 final defeat by Italy on Sunday. The 36-year-old official attended Wembley Stadium in a black t-shirt and blue jeans and made the most of being out of the spotlight after a stressful time officiating games at the tournament and in the 2020-21 Premier League campaign.
Oliver, along with Anthony Taylor - who won deserved praise for his management of the of Christian Eriksen collapse - led the English representations at the Euros this summer. The former even took charge of Spain's quarter-final victory over Switzerland, which Luis Enrique's side won via a penalty shootout in Saint Petersburg. But Oliver was seen back on home soil at the weekend but was in the stands rather than on the pitch leading proceedings. And he was recorded belting out Gala's 'Freed from Desire' as well as clapping and bouncing along to the song as it played over the tannoy system at Wembley in a video clip which has surfaced online.
Oliver - who has taken charge of 342 competitive matches across various competitions since becoming an EFL referee in 2007 - also posed for photos with supporters inside the stadium. But the Northumberland-born official did not see a favourable result for the Three Lions despite getting behind them, with Roberto Mancini's men winning on penalties after Leonardo Bonucci had cancelled out Luke Shaw's early opener.
After being introduced to refereeing by his father Clive, Oliver began doing it when he was just 14. Eight years later - after becoming the youngest ever Football League referee and youngest Premier League fourth official - he became the youngest referee to officiate at Wembley after taking charge of the 2007 Conference National play-off final between Exeter and Morecambe. In August 2010, Oliver broke Stuart Attwell's record of being the youngest ever Premier League referee at the age of 25 years and 182 days old when he officiated Birmingham’s 2-1 against Blackburn Rovers at St Andrew's. Involvement in the latter stages of the FA Cup came three years later when he took charge of eventual winners Wigan's semi-final against Millwall, before he officiated Arsenal's 2014 Community Shield win against Manchester City in 2014. He was selected for Champions League duty two years later where he took charge of three group stage games, with his first being Sporting Lisbon against Legia Warsaw. Oliver also refereed Leicester City's FA Cup final win against Chelsea in May prior to his involvement at the Euros.
Source: Daily Mail