Nottingham Forest are considering legal action against Sky after pundit Gary Neville branded their controversial statement following the Everton defeat as that of a “mafia gang”.
Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis was infuriated when his team were denied three penalties during the 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park, with VAR Stuart Attwell apparently deciding not to send referee Anthony Taylor to his pitchside monitor to review any of them. the decisions.
The club then posted on X that they had warned the PGMOL that Attwell was a fan of relegation rivals Luton Town.
Neville said: ‘It’s like a mafia gang statement. I mean, honestly, what the hell are they playing? He’s like a petulant child, it’s embarrassing. And some of those things they say there, the suggestion of some kind of inference of cheating because there is a VAR official at Stockley Park who is a Luton fan, is a scandal, and they will pay for that.
Mail Sport understands that Forest’s legal team is drafting a letter to Sky over Neville’s comments.
Nottingham Forest considering legal action against Sky over Gary Neville comments
Neville described his statement after the defeat against Everton as that of a “mafia gang”.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was furious that his team were denied three penalties at Everton.
The club privately admit that they acted with emotion and haste regarding their statement, but that is unlikely to prevent a fine from the Football Association.
The FA has formally requested comments from the club, coach Nuno Espirito Santo, player Neco Williams and Mark Clattenburg, consultant to the club’s board of directors, following their post-match comments.
Nuno said: “If we were in another country, we would start talking about conspiracy,” while Clattenburg, who was not responsible for the club’s statement, wrote in his Mail Sport column that the errors were “mind-blowing”. It was he who first raised the club’s concerns about Attwell during a phone call with PGMOL boss Howard Webb on Friday morning.
Forest have now formally requested that VAR audio from the game be made public, “to achieve full transparency and ensure the integrity of our sport is respected.” The club also wants the Premier League to reconsider its rules on referees’ involvement in games that could have an impact on the team they support. They insist their concern is “what the integrity of the game looks like” and “not individuals.”
Mail Sport understands Webb told Clattenburg he would not remove Attwell from his role when they spoke on Friday. During an eight-minute conversation, Webb said he did not know Attwell was a Luton supporter. Clattenburg explained that the information was available online and that the club hoped it would be raised at Nuno’s pre-match press conference later that day.
We’re told Webb said he didn’t think it was necessary to change the appointment and was upset by the suggestion. Clattenburg accepted Webb’s position, but in his view such appointments could cause a problem for the PGMOL, given that Forest and Luton currently occupy 17th and 18th places in the Premier League. He said Forest wanted Attwell to be replaced by another official.
Forest were then left baffled when Attwell did not recommend referring any of the three incidents involving Everton defender Ashley Young in the penalty area, prompting the statement that led to explosive consequences.
“Three extremely bad decisions, three sanctions not imposed, that we simply cannot accept,” it said. ‘We advised the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the match but they did not change it. Our patience has been tested several times. The NFFC will now consider its options.’
PGMOL experts claim that Clattenburg did not ask for the appointment to be changed and that Forest also had no problem with Attwell’s involvement. Sources insist that by expressing concerns about Attwell’s loyalty, Forest invited Webb to review the appointment, contrary to what the PGMOL now claims. The discrepancies have intensified the dispute.
Nottingham Forest have formally requested that VAR audio from the match be made public
The FA has asked Forest consultant Mark Clattenburg for comments.
Sources insist that by expressing concerns about Attwell’s loyalty, Forest invited Webb to review the appointment, contrary to what the PGMOL now claims. The discrepancies have intensified the dispute.
In a new statement on Monday evening, Forest said: “Following yesterday’s match, the NFFC issued a statement highlighting our concerns over the perception of PGMOL’s appointment of VAR for the game. This was an issue we raised with PGMOL ahead of the match over fears of the sideshow that would ensue if something went wrong with the officiating in the game That fear has materialized as the veracity of three major decisions against the club has been called into question.
‘It’s not about individuals but what the integrity of the game looks like. We know that referees do not allow external factors to influence their decision making and that all referees must declare their “loyalties” to PGMOL to avoid any perceived conflict or damage to the game’s reputation for integrity.
‘However, it is clear that PGMOL must modify its rule on loyalties to take into account contextual rivalries in the league table, not just local rivalries. This is not currently within the criteria, but it should be. Simply relying on match officials to recuse themselves if contextual rivalries exist invites conjecture, as some have recused themselves while others have not.
‘The NFFC maintains its call for greater transparency around PGMOL appointments to further protect the reputation of the game, as intended by PGMOL’s existing approach to loyalties. Given the widespread and constant concerns, not only of this club’s fans, players and management, but of many others and experts about VAR decisions throughout this season, any move to increase confidence in the system must be properly considered.”