Ex Tottenham star demands Premier League VAR sacking in show of Arsenal support

Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O'Hara has called for drastic Premier League action following the red card controversy between Arsenal and Wolves on Saturday afternoon.

The Gunners saw defender Myles Lewis-Skelly sent for an early shower after bringing down Matt Doherty in the first half. The challenge, which stopped a Wolves break, happened deep in the Arsenal half but was deemed to be serious foul play by Michael Oliver.

VAR backed the referee's decision but the incident caused uproar in the footballing world. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was left 'fuming' with the decision and the club has now officially appealed against Lewis-Skelly's three match ban, which would see him miss matches against Manchester City, Newcastle United and Leicester City.

Ex Tottenham star calls for drastic Premier League action

O'Hara, who spent three years playing for Wolves, didn't let his North London allegiances hold him back when launching a staunch defence of Arsenal this week. The 38-year-old told Grosvenor Sport: “It was a crazy decision – Michael Oliver gets it completely wrong. What makes it even crazier is that they’ve tried to justify it, which is quite scary actually.

"Everyone in the world can see that it wasn’t a red card for Myles Lewis-Skelly – it’s a late challenge and he knows what he’s doing, but it’s a tactical foul. He hasn’t tried to hurt him and he’s just taking one for the team – everyone’s made that kind of foul before at every level of the game.

“How Michael Oliver can send him off for that is embarrassing, but what’s worse is that Darren England on VAR didn’t even tell him to go to the monitor. He should be fined and removed from VAR duties for allowing that decision to stand. Fair play to Arsenal for getting a result, but what a terrible decision that was – the game is just gone.”

O'Hara isn't the only former Premier League man to call for drastic action from the league in the wake of the red card. Gunners legend Ian Wright took to social media platform Instagram to rant about the recruitment process for referees.

Ian Wright slams Premier League recruitment

He said: "Can I just say? It's a joke. Anyone that has ever played the game, and I'm not even talking Premier League - I'm talking five-a-side, Sunday league - knows it's never a red. Yellow card, nobody says a word.

“Time and time again, this level of refereeing, the decisions in the Premier League, the inconsistency, the excuses, the apologies - all of [the referees] just [want to be the] centre of attention, for me. We can't criticise too hard because where are the refs going to come from? Where are we going to get them?

"But, I'm sorry. This is the highest level of football and we do not have the highest level of referees. When will the Premier League bring the best refs into the so-called best league in the world? Because, at the moment, with this level of referees, we're nowhere near it. Nowhere near it."

In other news, David Ornstein has made an Arsenal transfer claim as a vice-president confirms bid.