Nottingham Forest voiced their discontent with Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Stuart Attwell after their loss to Everton and claimed they were denied three valid penalty chances during the game. Forest had earlier expressed concerns over Attwell’s potential bias as a Luton supporter to the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), their plea for substitution prior to the match fell on deaf ears though. The official Nottingham Forest social media account labelled the decisions as unacceptable, highlighting the growing frustration.
They were particularly upset about three disputes involving Ashley Young. The first one was a contested challenge on Giovanni Reyna, which Attwell refused to consider. There were two more contentious penalty instances before halftime and after involving Callum Hudson-Odoi and Young, both of which were dismissed by Referee Taylor and Attwell. The winger’s cross hit Young’s arm, but neither referee took action due to its close range. In the second half, Hudson-Odoi fell under Young’s pressure but it was deemed insufficient evidence for a penalty.
Goals by Idrissa Gueye and Dwight McNeil resulted in Everton’s victory, giving them a leg up in the fight for survival. This, in turn, pushed Forest to the 17th spot, only one point above Luton, with four more matches to go.
Over the course of the season, the east Midlands teams have expressed disapproval to PGMOL for multiple debatable decisions and have engaged ex-referee Mark Clattenburg to offer guidance on such issues.