Yahoo News Nottingham Forest tweet-gate: The catalyst, the aftermath, and what comes next after 43m post that shook football
"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."
Click post.
The publishing of the tweet at 3:37pm on Sunday, posted in the same moment as Nottingham Forest's full-time graphic to acknowledge the 2-0 defeat at Everton, sent social media shockwaves around English football. This was a club which had been on the receiving end of some questionable officiating calls, yes, but had directly questioned the integrity of those who oversee matches in this country.
Forest were slammed for the steps they'd taken to publicise their outrage at the latest round of subjective decisions which hadn't gone their way. Nuno Espirito Santo and Neco Williams reiterated the message from owner Evangelos Marinakis, who was left as bemused as anyone that Everton defender Ashley Young hadn't been penalised by referee Antony Taylor or VAR Stuart Attwell at least once from three separate appeals.
At the time of writing, the tweet has had more than 43 million impressions, with over 12,000 replies, over 30,000 reposts and over 177,000 likes.
READ: Chris Sutton identifies Nottingham Forest's 'oddity' and questions penalty claims
READ: UEFA make referee appointments after Everton v Nottingham Forest controversy
Carragher criticism
The reaction was substantial and, in many quarters, predictable.
"It tells you where we are with the Premier League now and the clubs. Stuart Attwell and Anthony Taylor have had a horrific day today. Awful and they should be rightly criticised for that, and that could have real implications for Forest," Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports. "I get the frustration. But what I have just read there on social media, that is like a fan in a pub. That is embarrassing from Nottingham Forest. I get the frustration.
"That... rubbish about the VAR is a Luton fan, you can't get involved in that and you have to show a little bit of class if you are a football club and I get it, the frustration. The officials have had an awful day, terrible. But you can't get involved in that, that is nonsense."
The FA then confirmed that they would be conducting an investigation into Forest's tweet.
Dyche is dismissive
Everton manager Sean Dyche, meanwhile, had no time for Forest's protests and the manner in which they went about criticising the authorities and officials. The Toffees, who remain in the relegation scrap with Forest, have, in Dyche's opinion, had their fair share of decisions go against them over the course of this season.
“I don’t know about that for a team that has only had two penalties in the season so far,” Dyche told Sky Sports. “I am not going to start crying about penalties I can assure you, we have had plenty not given.
“VAR is there to do its job, they have voted it’s not a penalty, that’s the way it goes. I am not going to start crying about having knocks you know, we have had a few here this season. That baffles me if you are looking at the bigger picture of what we are working towards and what we are having to deal with. That’s the way it goes, we haven’t had them go for us.”
Rivals' mockery
Remarkably, Forest's Premier League rivals Crystal Palace followed on from Forest's tweet with a similarly themed offering of their own. In the wake of their excellent 5-2 victory over London rivals West Ham United, which took place at the same time as Forest's meeting at Goodison Park, Palace's media team sensed an opportunity.
"Five extremely good goals - two goals conceded - which we simply have to accept," they posted. "#CPFC will now enjoy their Sunday."
Meanwhile, the man at the centre of the controversy, Young, waved away the idea that he was the perpetrator at any stage over the course of the afternoon. “All of them were right," he told Sky Sports. "None of them were given, were they? I think they (Forest) were claiming for everything. I think the referee was spot on.”
Young also followed up his comments with a pointed social media post in which he shared an image of Justin Timberlake's song 'Cry Me A River' with the caption "Old Skool Tunes For Today" and a couple of winking emojis.
Clatts wades in
Former referee Mark Clattenburg, employed in a consultancy role this season, didn't hold back in criticising his former colleagues having witnessed the game on Sunday and analysed how the afternoon played out thereafter.
“One of these errors would have been bad enough," he said. "Three was a joke, and that is why Nottingham Forest were left feeling victimised after another defeat in which zero big decisions went their way. In a season where they have had to endure some egregious refereeing, this trip to Everton was as grim a game as they have encountered since returning to the Premier League.
“These situations were precisely why video technology was brought into the Premier League and yet, Attwell did not send Taylor to his monitor. Not once. It was a hat-trick of howlers from the refereeing team and, unfortunately for Forest, a continuation of an unjust trend that has hampered their survival fight.”
Neco's had enough
Right-back and Welsh international Neco Williams expressed his own anger when conducting his own post-match interview. He was left at a loss as to how Young hadn't been penalised at least once, but more importantly on all three occasions after the ball hit his arm in the box and after two challenges on Gio Reyna and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
“Listen, it’s three clear, blatant penalties. Everyone watching that game knew they were all penalties. They are clear," he told Sky Sports. “Every single week this happens now. We are getting decisions against us. I don’t know why. Is it because we are a lower bottom half of the table team? Because I guarantee all the top six teams are getting every single one of them.
“I know every single person watching that game today knew all three of them were clear, blatant penalties. It is ridiculous. It is week after week now we are getting these decisions against us. I am not here to make excuses; I am not that type of person, but every week it is something, and I don’t know what it is. It needs to stop, because it is three clear, blatant penalties.”
The second tweet
Forest took to social media again on Monday, bypassing the publishing of a statement on their website and posting straight onto their X account, to confirm that they'd been in contact with the PGMOL and their chief Howard Webb and had requested to hear the audio of the conversation between referee Taylor and VAR Attwell - it's since been reported that that request has been granted.
“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 second post read.
"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.”
