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John Jones

Who is Brazil v Croatia referee Michael Oliver, the official who received death threats after 'destroying' World Cup winner's dreams

Five-time winners Brazil take on 2018 finalists Croatia in the first quarter-final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The Brazilians are one of the favourites to lift the trophy for a sixth time later this month having seen off Serbia and Switzelrand in the group stage before a classy 4-1 win over South Korea in the Round of 16.

Croatia, meanwhile, are looking to go one step further than they did in Russia, recording goalless draws against Morocco and Belgium in the group stage before thrashing Canada and scraping past Japan on penalties to reach the quarter-finals.

Englishman Michael Oliver is the man in the middle for the match at the Education City Stadium - but who is he and how has he got on in previous big games? Here's everything you need to know.

Who is Michael Oliver?

Oliver will be a familiar face to fans of Premier League teams, having refereed in the league for 12 years.

He began refereeing at the age of 14 after being introduced to it by his father and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the youngest referee to officiate at Wembley Stadium when he took charge of the Conference National play-off final in 2007.

By this point, he had already broken a number of records, becoming both the youngest assistant referee and referee in the Football League as well as the youngest fourth official in the Premier League.

He became the youngest ever referee in the Premier League in 2010 when he was selected to officiate Birmingham City's clash with Blackburn Rovers at the age of 25 years and 182 days.

He also referee the 2013 League Cup final and 2014 FA Community Shield before being selected for Champions League duty for the first time in 2016, taking charge of three group-stage games.

More recently, he officiated the 2021 FA Cup Final and this year's UEFA Super Cup before being one of two English refs chosen to take charge of World Cup matches in Qatar, alongside Anthony Taylor.

What controversial calls has he made in the past?

Oliver became caught up in major controversy back in 2018 when he took charge of the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final between Real Madrid and Juventus.

In a thrilling game between two of the biggest sides in club football, the scores were tired at 3-3 on aggregate going into the dying moments of second-half stoppage time.

With less than a minute left, Real's Toni Kroos played a ball into the penalty area towards Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward headed across goal to Lucas Vasquez, who fell to the floor under pressure from Juventus defender Medhi Benatia.

Oliver pointed to the spot, much to the disbelief of the Italian side, especially legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who immediately ran up to the English official and confronted him, pushing him and shouting in his face.

Despite the melee around him, the referee showed no hesitation in showing Buffon a red card, with the 2006 World Cup winner given his marching orders in what many believed would be his last Champions League match for Juventus before he returned to the club a year later.

After the game, police investigated threatening messages sent to Oliver’s wife after her phone number was leaked on social media, while someone reportedly shouted abuse through the letterbox of their family home, calling the referee a "c***".

Buffon also let loose in an explosive post-match interview, saying that Oliver had "a trash can where his heart should be". He added: "The team gave their all, but a human being cannot destroy dreams like that at the end of an extraordinary comeback on a dubious situation.

“On top of that, if you don't have the character to walk on a pitch like this in a stadium like this, you can sit in the stands with your wife, your kids, drinking your Sprite and eating crisps."

Buffon is not the only footballing figure that has criticised Oliver, with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp left enraged by a number of contentious decisions he made in the Reds' 3-2 loss to Arsenal earlier this year. It is reported that the referee even apologised to Klopp after accepting he had made incorrect decisions during the breathless Premier League Clash in October.

Who are his assistants for Brazil v Croatia?

Oliver will be assisted by fellow countrymen Stuart Burt and Gary Beswick during the quarter-final. Both have considerable Premier League experience and have already appeared at the Qatar World Cup during the group stage.

The full refereeing line-up for Brazil v Croatia is as follows:

Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG)

Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt (ENG)

Assistant Referee 2: Gary Beswick (ENG)

Fourth Official: Mustapha Ghorbal (ALG)

Reserve Assistant Referee: Abdelhak Etchiali (ALG)

Video Assistant Referee: Paulus van Boekel (NED)

Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA)

Offside Video Assistant Referee: Kathryn Nesbitt (USA)

Support Video Assistant Referee: Juan Soto (VEN)

Standby Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Mokrane Gourari (ALG)

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