Forest were furious after being denied three penalties against Everton at Goodison Park. They also raised concerns about the Premier League’s decision to appoint Stuart Attwell as the VAR for the match, questioning his integrity.
Howard Webb will admit on Tuesday night that Nottingham Forest should have been awarded a penalty in their loss to Everton.
The Midlands team criticized the Premier League’s decision to appoint Stuart Attwell as the VAR for their match, highlighting that he is a supporter of Luton Town. They expressed frustration over three denied penalty claims during their 2-0 loss to Everton.
However, it seems that Webb, the chief refereeing officer of the PGMOL, is willing to acknowledge fault for only one of the incidents. The audio from the discussions between referee Anthony Taylor and Attwell is expected to be featured on the “Match Officials Mic’d Up” program. Webb’s verdict was established during a Monday night recording for the show, set to air on Tuesday evening.
As reported by ESPN, the Premier League’s Independent Key Match Incidents Panel believes that VAR should have intervened only in the case of Callum Hudson-Odoi being brought down by Ashley Young in the area, not for Giovanni Reyna’s challenge or the handball claim.
Forest is facing potential sanctions from the FA as they investigate the club, along with comments made by Nuno Espirito Santo and Neco Williams. Mark Clattenburg, who serves as a refereeing consultant for Forest, has been asked to clarify his remarks made in a newspaper column after the match.
The statement released by the Premier League side expressed dissatisfaction with three controversial decisions, labeling them as extremely poor and noting the warnings given to the PGMOL about the VAR’s allegiance to Luton before the game. Forest hinted at exploring their options moving forward due to repeated challenges to their patience.
Forest’s response, released immediately after the match at Goodison Park, received widespread criticism for its tone and timing. Alan Shearer was particularly vocal, calling Forest’s post an “absolute embarrassment” and questioning their actions.
However, Mark Clattenburg, writing in the Daily Mail, supported the stance taken by Forest and criticized the refereeing decisions. He emphasized that one error would have been bad enough, but three denied penalties were unacceptable.
Clattenburg noted that Nottingham Forest felt victimized after another defeat with no significant decisions in their favor, adding that this match was one of the worst they had faced since their return to the Premier League.