Nottingham Forest is fighting to stay in the Premier League and made an explosive allegation following its 2-0 loss to Everton on Sunday, accusing the Video Assistant Referee official of the match of being a Luton Town fan — which is one one of the teams Nottingham Forest is trying to hold off to avoid relegation.
In a statement released on X, Nottingham Forest accused the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) of ignoring their concern that the VAR, Stuart Attwell, was a supporter of Luton Town.
The move came after Forest had three possible claims for penalties waved off by referee Anthony Taylor, as well as Attwell.
The club called the lack of calls “three extremely poor decisions — three penalties not given — which we simply cannot accept.”
The statement continued, “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 manager Nuno Espirito Santo voiced his displeasure regarding the three calls — all of which involved Everton’s Ashley Young — but added it was “not important if [Attwell] is a fan of another club.”
Santo also added: “I share the feeling of the club because it is not only this game. It has been a while that we have had poor decisions going against us. It is not an excuse, but we are not happy with the work of the referees.”
With the loss, Nottingham Forest is in 17th in the Premier League at 26 points, with Luton trailing them by just a point for the final spot out of relegation.
Nottingham Forest was also hit with a four-point deduction last month for violating the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Nottingham Forest and Luton Town both have four matches remaining.
Everton was also hit with a six-point reduction earlier this season for similar violations. The initial penalty had been 10 points but was reduced to six after an appeal by Everton.
Everton is now at 30 points and are in 16th place following Sunday’s win.
