Nottingham Forest have called on the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) to release the audio of conversations between the match officials during their defeat to Everton on Sunday. The club believe they should have been awarded three penalties during the match and complained that the video assistant referee was a supporter of relegation rivals Luton.
Ashley Young was at the centre of three incidents which Forest felt merited a penalty. There were two alleged fouls and a handball that the on-field referee, Anthony Taylor, did not deem worthy of an offence and the VAR, Stuart Attwell, did not intervene to overturn the original decisions.
“Nottingham Forest has today submitted a formal request to the PGMOL to release into the public domain the audio recordings between officials during yesterday’s match against Everton at Goodison Park,” the club said in a statement.
“The club has requested this be shared for three key match incidents – Ashley Young’s challenge on Giovanni Reyna (24th minute), Ashley Young’s handball (44th minute) and Ashley Young’s challenge on Callum Hudson-Odoi (56th minute). We firmly advocate for the broader football community and supporters to have access to the audio and transcript for full transparency, ensuring the integrity of our sport is upheld.”
Forest posted on X after the defeat on Sunday: “Three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept. We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn’t change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times. NFFC will now consider its options.”
Nottingham Forest has today submitted a formal request to the PGMOL to release into the public domain the audio recordings between officials during yesterday’s match against Everton at Goodison Park.
The club has requested this be shared for three key match incidents – Ashley…
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) April 22, 2024
It is understood that Forest did not request for Attwell to be stood down from being the VAR for their match. Mark Clattenburg, employed as a referee consultant by Forest, spoke to the PGMOL chief, Howard Webb, on Friday about Attwell being a Luton fan, suggesting it could be raised at Nuno Espírito Santo’s pre-match press conference, rather than asking for the official to be removed from duty. Clattenburg then wrote a column in the Daily Mail on Monday criticising the decisions of Taylor and Attwell on the day, in addition to the PGMOL decision not to replace Attwell beforehand.
The former Premier League referee Clattenburg was employed by Forest in February after the club felt they had been on the receiving end of numerous bad decisions and felt Clattenburg’s advice and influence could be a useful asset moving forward.
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The Football Association are investigating the post which questioned the integrity of the match officials and which could lead to Forest being charged.