Senior managers at Nottingham Forest were so angry with the match officials at Goodison Park that they wanted to issue a half-time statement criticizing their performance and questioning their impartiality. Sky Sports News can reveal.
However, Forest’s media chief intervened and persuaded them not to do so, fearing it would be a distraction in the second half and lead to a backlash from the football authorities.
Forest are currently under investigation by the FA and Premier League over a statement issued shortly after the final whistle in the 2-0 defeat to Everton, in which they criticized the PGMOL and questioned questions the integrity of VAR Stuart Attwell.
The club remains adamant that it was denied three clear penalties and has since asked the PGMOL to release audio of match officials during the incidents.
Sources close to refereeing body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) insist it has nothing to hide and will give the club the opportunity to hear the audio privately, as it would with anything another club making a similar request.
No decision has yet been made on whether this audio will also appear on the next edition of “Match Officials Mic’d Up,” which will air Tuesday night on Aerial sports.
Forest also called for a change in the rules around how officials are selected to carry out their duties – with more of them being prevented from taking part in matches which could impact the team they are personally support.
Forest declined to comment further when approached by Sky Sports News on Tuesday afternoon.
They say they are now fully focused on their appeal – which begins on Wednesday – against a four-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.
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Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher gives his thoughts on Nottingham Forest’s three penalty appeals against Everton.
Forest risked sanctions from the Football Association and Premier League for their extraordinary response to three rejected penalty appeals.
The Premier League said it was “extremely disappointed” by the statement, adding that it was “never appropriate to unduly question the integrity of match officials”.
The league said it was investigating the matter under its rules, with Rules B.15 and B.16 governing the obligation on clubs and their officials to behave with the utmost good faith.
Forest then issued another statement on Monday evening calling for rules regarding referee allegiance to be updated to account for “contextual rivalries in the standings”.
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Sky Sports’ Ron Walker takes a closer look at the criteria used by the PGMOL to select officials each week in the Premier League
Referees already declare their allegiance and will not be assigned this team’s matches, nor certain other matches such as those involving this club’s direct local rivals. For example, Michael Oliver has explained in the past that he couldn’t referee Newcastle matches because he was a fan.
Other factors that determine nominations include which teams are supported by members of an official’s immediate family, as well as performances and the number of times they have officiated a particular team’s matches.
PGMOL takes all of this into account and strives to make the best possible appointments when assigning six officials to each Premier League match from a pool of 70-75, whilst also fulfilling Championship referee appointments.
Ultimately, she has confidence in the impartiality and professionalism of her officials.
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Former Premier League referee Mike Dean says Nottingham Forest’s statement suggesting Stuart Attwell was a Luton Town fan was ‘staggering’ and wonders why they didn’t complain about being refereed by him earlier in the season.
It is believed that no club has ever questioned the process in the way that Forest have since the birth of the Premier League 32 years ago, nor have the club expressed any concerns regarding previous occasions where Attwell was the VAR during their matches. season.
England officials are clearly well regarded by UEFA, with eight on the list for Euro 2024 this summer.
Taylor will lead one of England’s two referee teams at Euro 2024, with Oliver leading the other. Attwell and David Coote were named VAR.
The FA asked three members of Forest staff – manager Nuno Espirito Santo, full-back Neco Williams and refereeing analyst Mark Clattenburg – for their observations on comments they made about the refereeing at Goodison Park.
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Gary Neville says Nottingham Forest will regret ‘horrible’ statement made following VAR controversy
Man Utd boss Ten Hag: ‘We have to respect the referees’
Forest’s response also sparked criticism from Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag on Tuesday.
“You can’t do that. You can agree, you can disagree,” the Dutchman said.
“Wan-Bissaka’s handball (in the FA Cup semi-final against Coventry) is totally wrong, a mistake, but you can’t question (the officials’ integrity) so I won’t do that.
“It’s not good for the game. We have to respect (the referees) and that’s not respect.”
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