Nuno Espirito Santo, the head coach, is optimistic that Nottingham Forest’s recent controversy over officiating calls won’t hurt them in their next games.
The Reds play their first home game against defending champion Manchester City on Sunday, the first of four games they have left to clinch their Premier League survival. But the furious response from Forest following their 2-0 loss at Everton has dominated the build-up to this weekend’s match.
The team gained notoriety for its irate tweet at the end of the game at Goodison Park after three of their penalty requests were rejected. Forest alleged they had “warned” the Professional Game Match Officials Board that Stuart Attwell “is a Luton fan” before the game, therefore casting doubt on his objectivity.
Nuno has emphasized that any criticism directed towards officials is impersonal. And he knows that when they officiate their games, referees won’t be influenced by the controversy or any preconceived notions about the Reds.
“They work as professionals.” They ought to be impervious, Nuno stated. “Try to be immune to all these things and do their own work; I know it’s not simple. Attend the game, get ready, pay attention, and perform their duties as assigned.
“We’ll enter games with high hopes for our team. Our message and communication are very clear: put everything behind you and concentrate on what is ahead. This is our spirit; it is a spirit of goodwill. We head outside to play football. It should be the duty of others to handle what occurs thereafter.
Nuno acknowledged that feelings sometimes get intense after games and supported the team’s freedom to express themselves on social media. However, he maintained that there was never a plan to target Attwell.
“Certainly, as a club, we never intended to surpass the boundaries,” he continued. Everything has an upper limit, and abusing someone is not the goal. This should cease.
However, please keep in mind that after a football game in which we are fighting for our lives and you witness a great deal of activity, then you watch it again and begin to piece together all of those events, how are you going to maintain composure and declare, “Okay, nothing has happened?” However, it is incorrect to say that we wish to surpass the boundaries.
“The VAR now has a name, which is the only modification that has occurred. There have been previous games with errors in which the VAR name was absent. However, it’s not personal.
“The VAR alone, the referees, and the PGMOL should take accountability for their errors as they have a significant impact on numerous aspects and individuals, particularly the supporters.” Respect should be shown to the supporters since they travel great distances to see. How can you control the fact that they view replays and have phones? Put the fault on the error rather than the statement.
