ALAN SHEARER has slammed Nottingham Forest for their “embarrassing” statement criticising the PGMOL.
The club claimed three “extremely poor” decisions were made against them after referee Anthony Taylor failed to award them three penalties against Everton.
One was for a possible handball against Ashley Young, while the Toffees defender was also involved in two awkward tussles inside the box, possibly making contact with a Forest player.
Nottingham Forest said after the match they could “not accept” the decisions, before going on to say they warned the PGMOL that Taylor is a Luton fan.
They have now called for public broadcasting of the VAR conversations during the match.
Shearer was baffled by the statement, which he criticised on The Rest is Football podcast saying: “What the f*** are Forest doing putting that statement out? It’s an absolute embarrassment.
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“‘We told the PGMOL the referee he was a Luton fan’. What on earth are they thinking about?”
Co-host Micah Richards joined in with Shearer’s bemusement, saying he could barely believe it was real.
Richards added: “Honestly I thought it was a parody account. I was like ‘this is not real, surely this is not real.”
“I had to check about ten different sources to ensure it was real.”
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Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville also blasted the statement, with the latter calling it a “scandal”.
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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.”
Today 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.”
Neville also suggested former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg must resign from his role as Forest’s referee analyst.
He said: “Mark Clattenberg must resign tonight.
“If he saw those words go out in which question the integrity of a referee and claims someone is a cheat for supporting another club, then he’s supporting what is being said.
“He would lose all credibility with referees in the game. He should stand down tonight and distance himself from that statement.
“The statement is like a petulant child. It’s embarrassing.
“Today has been a horrendous day for Nottingham Forest. Possibly horrendous because of the decisions that they’ve had, but horrendous for how they’ve reacted to the situation.
“To mention the VAR official as being a Luton fan and inferring in some way that’s had an impact on the decision-making process and suggesting to me as a fan, thinking ‘has he cheated us’, you’re into really dangerous territory.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
