Angry Nottingham Forest supporters have demanded that Rob Jones be barred from officiating at their games after he was thought to have made a major mistake during Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Bournemouth.
Nuno Espirito Santo, the manager of New Forest, criticized the ruling, which came after the central defender had received a second yellow card just 23 minutes into the game at the City Ground. The Reds had the lead at one point in the match, but Dominic Solanke’s injury-time winner put an end to any dreams of a tie.
Boly was given a second yellow for what appeared to be a perfectly timed challenge on Bournemouth defender Adam Smith and will now be suspended for the Reds’ Boxing Day trip to Newcastle (12.30pm kick-off). Under current rules, VAR cannot review red cards that result from two previous cautions.
According to the Telegraph, referees’ chief Howard Webb has contacted Nuno to confirm that Jones made a serious error in showing Boly a second yellow.
However, the report adds: “The club want Webb to go further, having already written to him this season to complain about a decision involving Jones, while they have also demanded any recording of the conversation between the referee and the Video Assistant Referee in relation to the Boly incident, as well as that which saw them denied a penalty for a handball by Adam Smith.
“And they want Jones – who they allege defended his decision to send off Boly to Forest’s coaching staff at half-time of Saturday’s game – suspended from officiating them until all their concerns are addressed.”
So far, there has been no official confirmation from Forest of a complaint or that Webb, the head of Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL), has been in touch over the incident.
Forest are now just two points outside the Premier League relegation zone after a run of 14 games without a win, a situation compounded by Newcastle’s defeat at 18th-placed Luton Town on Saturday.
The Telegraph report adds: “The letter to Webb is the Midlands club’s second this season after they complained in August about the performance of referee Stuart Atwell and his officials in their 3-2 defeat at Manchester United. That game saw Atwell send off Forest captain Joe Worrall for a challenge on United captain Bruno Fernandes. Jones was the Var that day and backed the decision.”
