Yahoo News Evangelos Marinakis speaks out on Nottingham Forest storm with 'bulls**t' remark
Evangelos Marinakis has no regrets over Nottingham Forest's statement via social media questioning Stuart Attwell's appointment as VAR for the club's loss to Everton.
With the club in the thick of the relegation battle, immediately after the final whistle was blown at Goodison Park Forest issued a hard-hitting statement. It read: "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."
READ MORE: Taiwo Awoniyi makes 'tough' admission after question about Nottingham Forest future
It was followed by backing from Nuno Espirito Santo and other club staff, which in turn led to official Premier League and FA investigations and plenty of chastising in the media. "Like a fan in the pub," Jamie Carragher quipped, while Gary Neville likened it to something a "mafia gang" would do.
"Who created this storm?,' queries Marinakis in an in-depth interview with the Mail Online. "Regrets? None at all. But for others to make all these comments and all this bulls**t..."
Forest's owner believes the furore is exaggerated and after inviting the line of questioning himself, he explained: "The truth is this specific referee is well known to be a Luton fan – and no doubt declared his interest to PGMOL, as all of them have to.
"In my opinion, the PGMOL should not have selected him for this match. Luton were directly below Forest at that time. In the final relegation place in eighteenth position. The match against Everton was hugely important for the club's survival in the Premier League.
"The PGMOL should not have risked even the suspicion or perception of any bias, even unconscious bias. To be clear, we don't expect to dictate or to impose a change to the PGMOL or Premier League but it is our duty to warn of a situation and be proactive. If this is crime..."
Ultimately, PGMOL chief Howard Webb reviewed the fixture and publicly admitted that only the third of the three contentious penalty decisions - Ashley Young challenging Callum Hudson-Odoi - should have seen a different outcome.
"There were three undisputed penalties - not one," the Greek businessman states. "We have the analysis from trusted experts to prove it."
