Matt Jones, a Liverpool Echo journalist, described Nottingham Forest’s reaction to their defeat at Everton on Sunday (April 21) as “embarrassing”.
Everton won a critical relegation six-pointer at the bottom of the Premier League 2-0 at Goodison Park, but the game was marred by controversy.
Three disputed penalty rulings went against the visitors, with Ashley Young being blamed on each occasion.
After the match, Forest questioned the integrity of VAR official Stuart Attwell, stating his love for Luton Town made him ineligible to officiate.
Mark Clattenburg, former referee and Forest’s’match and performance analyst’, described the choices as “mind-boggling” in his Daily Mail column [21 April]. He suggested that the officials should have been replaced to avert the situation.
The club’s reply has provoked significant controversy, with many criticising Forest’s actions.
Jones expressed his thoughts on the subject in the Liverpool Echo on April 22nd, stating that the Tricky Trees may feel unfairly treated after Sunday’s game. For me, the third incident involving Ashley Young is unquestionably a penalty – the first two felt like 50/50 rulings – and not receiving one will sting. They will feel as if the world is against them as Everton did as a result of their judgements and deductions.
“However, the manner in which toys were thrown out of the pram on the full-time whistle was embarrassing.
“The way in which Forest’s new mouthpiece Mark Clattenburg – a man who once produced a refereeing performance so bad in a Merseyside derby he didn’t referee Everton for six years after – has parroted the club’s line in his Daily Mail article is troubling.”
Nottingham Forest and Mark Clattenburg established a hazardous precedent following Everton complaints.
While Forest are right to be upset about at least two of the penalty rulings made against them over the weekend, the club and a member of staff’s reaction is completely reckless.
In an era when football authorities are seeking greater respect for match officials, the precedent set by Forest and Clattenburg is disturbing.
A professional group and previous referee implying that a high-level official may be biassed due to his own allegiances will only increase the likelihood of unpleasant comments being directed at them.
In this case, however, Atwell’s alleged Luton connections appear to be quite unimportant, given that Everton are also a team the Hatters will have wanted to escape relegation with.
With Luton still hosting the Toffees at Kenilworth Road in early May, it could be argued that Everton would have been better off if they were still in the relegation zone ahead of that game.
Everton’s 2-0 win puts them five points ahead of 18th-placed Luton, with a game in hand. They still have winnable home games against Brentford and Sheffield United.
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