Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 defeat against Everton on Sunday afternoon resulted in a sensational social media post from the club’s official X account, criticising ‘three extremely poor decisions which we simply cannot accept.’
The club purportedly flagged the fact that VAR official Stuart Atwell is a Luton Town fact to the PGMOL ahead of the match. Like Nottingham Forest, the Hatters find themselves embroiled in the relegation battle – and Forest commented that ‘our patience has been tested multiple times.’
Embed from Getty ImagesIdrissa Gueye and Dwight McNeil netted either side of the break to seal an important victory for the Toffees at Goodison Park, but the visitors felt they should have been awarded three penalties after a number of controversial incidents inside the box.
As it happened
When Giovanni Reyna was felled inside the area by Ashley Young after 24 minutes, Nottingham Forest felt confident of a penalty being awarded. The travelling fans would be left dishevelled though, with VAR finding no fault in the defender’s challenge from behind.
Salt would be rubbed into their wounds five minutes later, as Idrissa Gueye fired the hosts into a lead with a low strike from 25 yards out – with Matz Sels nowhere near to making the save.
Embed from Getty ImagesYoung would be at the centre of another controversial decision on the stroke of half-time, with his arm clipping Callum Hudson-Odoi’s volley. Anthony Taylor dismissed the appeals, and VAR quickly brushed over the incident – with Nottingham Forest visibly aggrieved as they headed down the tunnel.
The furore would continue into the second half, with none other than Young the focal point once again. Hudson-Odoi raced into the penalty area, getting the better of the Toffees defender, who slid in from behind to halt his run just as he looked primed to shoot. VAR failed to award a penalty.
With fifteen minutes of regulation time remaining, Dwight McNeil struck gold to seal the victory. As was the case for Gueye’s opener, Sels was rendered helpless as a low strike from distance found the back of the net – this time via the base of the post.
Embed from Getty ImagesNine minutes of stoppage time would be further prolonged by a serious clash of heads that left Everton’s Beto unconscious following a collision with Morgan Gibbs-White. The forward lay motionless as he received medical attention, but gestured to the home fans as he was stretchered off the pitch.
The lineups
EVE: Pickford; Mykolenko, Branthwaite, Tarkowski, Young; Gueye; McNeil, Gomes, Doucoure, Harrison; Calvert-Lewin
NFO: Sels; Aina, Murillo, Niakhaté, Williams; Danilo, Dominguez; Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Reyna; Wood
