Michael Oliver is not wearing a dunce’s hat. Nor, as far as it is possible to discern, does his neat black hair conceal devil’s horns. He does not express any visceral dislike of the team you support.
He does not name a player he is itching to send off or a manager he has it in for. It might come as a surprise given the silence that is usually imposed on our best referees but his voice actually makes him sound suspiciously like a human being.
In fact, let’s go further. Given the relentless abuse and mockery that is the lot of a Premier League referee, Oliver is remarkably free of self-pity or resentment or anxiety or distrust or defensiveness or arrogance.