After being denied three penalties against Everton at Goodison Park, Nottingham Forest were enraged and questioned the fairness of the Premier League’s choice to use Stuart Attwell as the VAR for the match.
On Tuesday night, Howard Webb will acknowledge that Nottingham Forest’s defeat to Everton should have resulted in a penalty.
When Stuart Attwell was chosen as the match’s VAR and it was revealed that the official was a Luton Town supporter, the Midlands team questioned the impartiality of the Premier League. As Forest lost 2-0, they were incensed that three different penalty claims had been denied.
Webb, the PGMOL’s chief referee, only seems willing to take responsibility for one of the occurrences, though. The conversations between referee Anthony Taylor and Attwell will be shown on the program “Match Officials Mic’d Up” in audio format. Webb made his decision during the show’s Monday night taping, which is scheduled to run on Tuesday.
The Premier League’s Independent Key Match Incidents Panel believes that VAR should have only stepped in when Ashley Young knocked down Callum Hudson-Odoi in the area. They do not believe it should have done so for the same player’s challenge on Giovanni Reyna or for the handball claim. This was first reported by ESPN.
The FA may potentially impose several penalties on Forest. The club is being probed by the governing body in addition to remarks made by Nuno Espirito Santo and Neco Williams. Forest’s referee consultant, Mark Clattenburg, has been asked to elaborate on his remarks in a post-match newspaper column.
In a statement, the Premier League team said: “We just cannot accept three very poor decisions—three penalties that were not granted. Before the match, we informed the PGMOL that the VAR supports Luton, but they chose not to replace him.
“Our endurance has been put to the limit several times. NFFC will now examine its alternatives.”
Forest’s post, its tone, and the manner of its release, coming immediately after the final whistle at Goodison Park, was widely criticised.
Leading the criticism of Forest’s actions was Alan Shearer, who called their post a “total embarrassment” and questioned, “What the f*** were they doing?”
Still, Clattenburg defended his companies’ stance and criticized the choices in a Daily Mail article. “Even one of these mistakes would have been disastrous,” he remarked. “Three was a joke, which is why Nottingham Forest felt like victims following yet another loss in which none of their crucial decisions turned out as planned.
“This trip to Everton was as depressing a game as they have encountered since returning to the Premier League, and they have had to endure some egregious refereeing this season.”
