Nottingham Forest WILL be allowed to listen to VAR audio after furious statement – and it could be shown on TV
NOTTINGHAM FOREST will be offered a chance to listen to the VAR exchanges held during their defeat to Everton.
But the recordings will not be aired publicly before next week at the earliest.
Furious Forest face a welter of FA and Prem charges after inferring that VAR Stuart Attwell might have been biased by his support of relegation rivals Luton.
They demanded on Monday that the recordings be “released into the public domain”.
The club were raging over three denied penalty claims, all involving Everton’s former England defender Ashley Young.
Forest called the referring decisions “extremely poor” on their social media.
The furore relates to Young’s challenge on Giovanni Reyna, his ‘handball’ and his tackle on Callum Hudson-Odoi.
But while PGMOL bosses are ready to let Forest listen to the tapes of the conversations between Attwell and ref Anthony Taylor, that would only be in a private setting and not generally broadcast.
That is in line with standard procedure, with clubs having the right to ask for the recordings as long as they respect the confidentiality of the process.
However, it is likely that refs’ chief Howard Webb WILL address the issues in the looming edition of the Match Officials Mic’d Up magazine show, which explains and clarifies contentious calls.
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Webb is scheduled to record the programme at the start of next week before it is broadcast on Tuesday, giving him the opportunity to put PGMOL’s case or admit to an error by either Taylor or Attwell.
Whether the offer will be accepted by Forest is unclear.
They had argued: “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.”
Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo, defender Neco Williams and former Prem official Mark Clattenburg — the club’s ‘referee analyst’ — have until tomorrow to respond to the FA demand for their “observations” over post-match comments on Sunday.
The club and the three individuals face charges and heavy fines, while the Prem is also ready to file a charge that alleges Forest breached their undertaking to act in “utmost good faith”.
David Coote, a Notts County supporter, has been put in charge of Luton’s visit to Wolves this Saturday.
What have Nottingham Forest said?
After the final whistle against Everton, Nottingham Forest’s official Twitter account tweeted: “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.”
On Monday the club revealed they have requested the PGMOL release the audio recordings between officials during the match.
A statement read: “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.”
That decision has also angered fans of Forest, who sit just one point and one place in the table ahead of rivals Luton.
Despite the controversy at Everton, Attwell has been given Uefa’s stamp of approval by being named on VAR duty for the Euros while Taylor is chosen as a pitch ref.
Attwell is one of two English officials on booth duties at the tournament, which kicks off in Munich on June 15.
He and Coote will be based at the tournament hub in Leipzig, while Michael Oliver and Taylor have both been selected to take charge of matches.
They are among the 18 whistlers selected by Uefa for the Euros.
And despite the continued criticism of officiating standards in the Premier League, England is one of just four countries with more than one referee selected.
France, Germany and Italy have two whistlers, while others include Poland’s Szymon Marciniak — praised for refereeing the 2022 World Cup final.
Oliver will work with assistants Stuart Burt and Dan Cook, while Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn complete Taylor’s team.
Oliver and Taylor officiated at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as well as at Euro 2020.