Nottingham Forest have been fined £750,000 for accusing VAR bias

The FA fined Nottingham Forest £750,000 ($979,526) over a social media post last season targeting video assistant referee Stuart Attwell. It was confirmed on Friday.

Forrest described the punishment as “grossly disproportionate” and said they would appeal the decision.

The post in question came after their 2-0 defeat to Everton on April 21, a time when both teams were locked in the relegation zone. Luton were also involved in the bid to fight relegation, and Forest questioned Attwell’s impartiality in his social media post.

“Three very bad decisions – three penalty kicks that were not awarded – which we simply cannot accept,” Forrest said on his official account on the X website. “We warned PGMOL that VAR was Luton fans before the game but they did not change it. Our patience has been tested several times. The NFFC will now consider its options.”

An FA statement said Forest also received a warning “due to misconduct in relation to comments posted on social media” in addition to the fine.

The statement added: “The club denied that the comments published on social media were biased and/or called into question the integrity of the match referees and/or the video assistant referee and/or brought the match into disrepute.”

“An independent regulatory committee found the charge proven after a hearing and imposed sanctions on the club.”

The charge relates to a breach of FA Rule E3.1, with Forest’s social media post condemned as constituting “inappropriate conduct in that it connotes bias and/or calls into question the integrity of the match referee”.[s] And/or VAR and/or bringing the game into disrepute.”

forest Issue a statement After announcing their punishment.

The statement read: “Nottingham Forest Football Club is extremely disappointed by the regulatory committee’s decision to impose a £750,000 fine in relation to comments posted on social media following our Premier League match against Everton on Sunday 21 April.”

“We are particularly concerned that the FA, in its requests, sought to impose a penalty ‘in excess of £1 million’. We believe this request, along with the subsequent fine, is completely disproportionate and the club will appeal the decision.”

Forest were angry at the decisions made in the match, with all three penalty claims centered on Everton’s Ashley Young.

They were troubled by one tackle Young made on United States international Giovanni Reyna, an alleged handball from a Callum Hudson-Odoi cross, and then a tangle between Young and Hudson-Odoi in the second half.

“I don’t understand the reason and the decision [referee] “Anthony Taylor and VAR Stuart Attwell, because I see the pictures,” Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo told Sky Sports.

“It’s hard to accept. There’s a penalty on Gio Reyna, it’s a kick, don’t tell me it’s not contact. It’s a penalty, then a handball, then the incident situation with Callum.

“So it is understandable that we as a club would react this way because we want to get things right. We don’t want bad referees. We want good decisions. Well, if we lose the game today and there are no incidents, we will take it.” “.

Forest had former referee Mark Clattenburg working at the club at the time as a referee analyst. He published a column in the Daily Mail defending the club’s response and described the decisions as “a hat-trick of howlers”.

“One of those mistakes would have been bad enough. Three of them were a joke, which is why Nottingham Forest were left feeling like a victim after another defeat in which no big decisions were made,” he wrote.

“In a season where they have had to endure some terrible refereeing, this trip to Everton was as dismal a game as they have faced since their return to the Premier League.

“These situations are exactly why video technology was introduced to the Premier League, and yet Attwell did not send Taylor to his screen. Not once. It was a hat-trick of boos from the refereeing team and, unfortunately for Forest, it was a continuation of an unfair trend.” hindered their fight for survival.

“You will see the statement issued by the club – how the PGMOL has been contacted to warn that it is not appropriate for a Luton fan like Attwell to play such a pivotal role in a huge game that would impact the relegation race.”

Clattenburg has left his position as Forest’s refereeing advisor amid a backlash over his public interventions as a former Premier League referee.