Nottingham Forest have been left furious with The FA over being handed a unprecedented punishment for their tweet about Stuart Attwell.
Forest was fined £750,000 by the Football Association (FA) for a social media post related to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Stuart Attwell following their Premier League match against Everton on April 21st, 2024.
After a contentious match where Forest felt they were wrongly denied three penalty appeals, the club posted on Twitter, implying that Stuart Attwell, who was the VAR for the match, might have had a bias due to being a Luton Town fan.
This post was made in the heat of the moment, questioning the integrity of the officiating and potentially suggesting bias due to Attwell’s supposed allegiance to Luton, a relegation rival of Forest.
The FA considered this post as an attack on the integrity of match officials and the game itself, leading to a significant fine.
Initially, the FA sought a penalty exceeding £1 million, reflecting the gravity with which they viewed the breach of regulations concerning social media conduct.
Forest denied any intention to imply bias or question integrity but argued the post aimed to initiate a debate on potential biases in officiating, especially given Attwell’s alleged support for Luton.
They expressed disappointment with the fine’s amount, labelling it as “wholly disproportionate,” and announced an appeal against the decision.
Stuart Attwell himself provided a statement to the disciplinary panel, detailing the stress and distress caused by the post, highlighting the personal impact on officials when their integrity is publicly questioned.
This incident has sparked discussions on how clubs communicate about referees and VAR decisions, the pressures on match officials, and the intersection of football with social media, where emotions can quickly escalate into public disputes.
Nottingham Forest have been fined £750,000 and warned for misconduct in relation to comments posted on social media after their Premier League game against Everton on Sunday 21 April.
Full statement: https://t.co/v6Gng3BqJB pic.twitter.com/PWIhkaKmPb
— FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) October 11, 2024
Club statement: Response to FA charge
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) October 11, 2024
FA STATEMENT:
Nottingham Forest have been fined £750,000 and warned for misconduct in relation to comments posted on social media after their Premier League game against Everton on Sunday 21 April.
The club denied that the comments posted on social media imply bias and/or question the integrity of the match officials and/or the video assistant referee and/or bring the game into disrepute.
An independent Regulatory Commission found the charge to be proven following a hearing and imposed the club’s sanctions. Its written reasons for these decisions can be read in full below.
The FA v Nottingham Forest FC – Liability
The FA v Nottingham Forest FC – Sanction
NOTTINGHAM FOREST STATEMENT:
Nottingham Forest Football Club is extremely disappointed with the decision of the Regulatory Commission to impose a £750,000 fine in relation to comments posted on social media following our Premier League fixture against Everton on Sunday 21 April.
We are particularly concerned that The FA, in its submissions, sought a sanction “in excess of £1,000,000”. We believe that this request, along with the subsequent fine, is wholly disproportionate and the Club will be appealing the decision.
– STATEMENT ENDS –
At the time, Nottingham Forest decided to triple down on PGMOL in a new statement after the FA and Premier League take issue with the club’s VAR outburst.
The Reds accused Stuart Attwell, the VAR for their contentious 2-0 defeat at Everton, of being a Luton fan after three penalty appeals were turned down.
Forest said they wanted VAR audio from the match to be released, the FA seeked observations, while the Premier League were ‘extremely disappointed’ with the tweet.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST STATEMENT #1 (21 April, 3:37pm)
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.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST STATEMENT #2 (22 April, 3:22pm)
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 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.
FA STATEMENT (22 April, 5:15pm)
We have formally requested observations from Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espirito Santo, Neco Williams and Mark Clattenburg as a result of their comments following their Premier League match against Everton on Sunday 21 April. We will provide any further updates in due course.
PREMIER LEAGUE STATEMENT (22 April, 5:31pm)
The Premier League was extremely disappointed to read the comments made by Nottingham Forest on social media yesterday, following its match against Everton.
We note The FA has confirmed it will be investigating the club’s statement. It is never appropriate to improperly question the integrity of match officials, and the nature of these comments means the Premier League will also be investigating the matter in relation to the League’s Rules.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST STATEMENT #3 (22 April, 5:50pm)
Following yesterday’s match at Everton, NFFC issued a statement highlighting our concern at the perception of the PGMOL appointment of VAR for the game. This was an issue we raised with PGMOL prior to the fixture because of the fear of the side show that would ensue if anything went wrong with officiating in the game. That fear has materialised, as the correctness of three important decisions against the Club have been called into doubt.
This is not about individuals but rather how the integrity of the game is seen. We know match officials do not allow outside factors to influence their decision-making and that all referees are required to declare their ‘allegiances’ to PGMOL to avoid any perceived conflict or harm to the game’s reputation for integrity.
However, it is clear PGMOL must amend its rule on allegiances to account for contextual rivalries in the league table, not just local rivalries. This is currently not within the criteria but should be. Mere reliance on match officials to recuse themselves if contextual rivalries exist invites conjecture, as some have recused themselves where others have not.
NFFC stands by its request for greater transparency around PGMOL appointments to further protect the game’s reputation, as intended in PGMOL’s existing approach to allegiances.
Given the widespread and ongoing concerns, not merely of the fans, players and managers of this Club but of many others and the pundits too, over VAR decisions throughout this season any move which boosts confidence in the system should be properly considered.
SEE MORE: Ashley Young smirks during interview as he’s asked about Nottingham Forest penalty appeals
SEE MORE: Mark Clattenburg fumes over Nottingham Forest VAR ‘joke’ after Gary Neville tells him to resign
SEE MORE: Jamie Carragher slams Nottingham Forest’s explosive statement claiming “VAR is a Luton fan”
Here’s how Twitter users reacted with Nottingham Forest said to be furious with The FA over the unprecedented punishment for their referee tweet…
@AO1865: Worth every single penny of pocket change to our owner, if it means people opened their eyes (they did) and saw the inward corruption.
@Mobyhaque1: How about fines for inept referee/howard Web/PGMOL instead for not being able to the do their job? What other line of work pays workers for ineptitude?
@KJMsport57: The truth hurts doesn’t it? Has the @FA and @premierleague addressed the issues raised? Like the appalling officiating, the Luton favouritism, the Ashley Young cheating? #nffc
@RCMCFCX3: £750K 😂😂 this is bandit territory… So this is how the FA/PL pay their legal fees
@RussellSergeant: Absolute joke yet again.. The VAR ref that day. Was he a Luton fan… YES. Were forest denied 3 stonewall penalties that day for the whole world to see… YES. Have we highlighted the corruption and favouritism for certain clubs… YES. What a joke of an organisation
@cshepstatto: Were they wrong though?
@Cranky84: Fined 750k for speaking the truth? What has football come to! #nffc
@warrenallsworth: Send the fine in pennies. What an utterly ludicrous figure plucked out of thin air. As a reminder a fine for racist chanting given to Gillingham last year was 12500…
@NoTweetsForTony: Once again. Fuck off you boring cunts. P.S. Any punishment for the shite decisions made by the officials on that day? Wankers. #nffc
@NFFCHarrison005: In other words – forest raised an issue – premier league ignored it – said issue happened 3 times denying us of 3 goal scoring opportunities or a penalty – forest complained online – forest are the ones with the fine 🤣🤣
@NMBLAKE: The fine of £750 000 is a very poor decision which we simply cannot accept. We warned the PGMOL that they are as much use as tits on a bull and that the Premier League is corrupt. Our patience has been tested multiple times. NFFC will now consider its options.
@NFFCRYNO: They have literally adjusted the referee assignment rules after what we said was correct. So we highlight the issue they impose changes the season after and we pay the price for highlighting the facts. Bollox
@GaryKirby28: NFFC 🤝 The Rebel City. We’ll say what we want and we’ll fight who we want when we want! Go on EM! We’ll back you
@Forest_Ablock: Yet when they make a gross error which directly influences the result of a game they get away with an apology letter They need to sort themselves out before coming all high and mighty when challenged #NFFC
@liamwag9: Excess of £1m for saying the truth. Wow
@reidy_nffc: They should sort out the horrific officiating which happens weekly across multiple matches in ‘the biggest league in the world’
@OfficialBrzndz: So we get fined 750k for calling out the truth. Yet refs consistently get away with poor decisions after saying “sorry”
@JillianJade22: Meanwhile the FA won’t take any action against the corrupt decision to allow a Luton Town fan to referee a game where he blatantly refused to give multiple penalties to Forest because it would harm Luton if Forest won. @FA_PGMOL and the FA are an absolute joke
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