Refereeing

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.Alan Shearer slammed Nottingham Forest’s PGMOL statementCredit: GettyOne 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.READ MORE IN FOOTBALL”‘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.”Most read in FootballJamie Carragher and Gary Neville also blasted the statement, with the latter calling it a “scandal”.CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERSWhat 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.Gary Neville tells Mark Clattenburg to RESIGN from Nottingham Forest role after club’s ’embarrassing’ VAR statement”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.” More

RODRI – look away now. If you aren’t already knackered you will be after reading this.Manchester City’s overworked midfielder broke with tradition ten days ago by pleading for a rest, because the hectic football calendar is catching up on him.Chelsea star Pat Nevin won the 1986 Full Members’ Cup – 24 hours after playing against SouthamptonCredit: GettyAlan Saunders was the referee ‘having fun’ during the Wembley showdownCredit: GettyHe will probably start against Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday, though, in an example of a thoroughly modern FA Cup semi-final: late kick-off and no replay to drain the legs.Back in 1986, the two teams met at the same ground in the now-defunct Full Members’ Cup on March 23 with both teams having played the day before in the old Division One.City drew 2-2 at Manchester United while Chelsea won 1-0 at Southampton then whizzed back up to London to prepare for the game.Winger Pat Nevin played two full 90-minute matches in 24 hours. A league game and cup final on consecutive days. The stuff of Rodri’s nightmares.READ MORE ON CHELSEAChelsea won 5-4 as 67,000 fans turned up.For slender Nevin, it was a doddle.He said: “Wembley is quite taxing, it’s a big pitch and in those days anyway, quite sapping because it was lush grass. It was asking a lot but I don’t actually remember feeling tired.“But my background was as a distance runner so I could go forever.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER“The big, heavier guys struggled more than anyone else. I think Kerry Dixon was injured that day.“The Chelsea fans turned up as if it was the Champions League final. It was weird. Chelsea hadn’t been at Wembley for a long time, so they were enjoying a day out. I think we were 5-1 up with five minutes to go.Chelsea’s plans for £1bn new stadium“The referee was just having a laugh. He gave them a penalty right at the end to make it 5-4. I was furious. I shouted at him, ‘What are you doing?’“He said, ‘I’m just having a bit of fun and will blow up after this, don’t worry.’ I thought, ‘I like your style, mate.'”Chelsea played 52 matches in season 1985-86 and finished sixth.Nevin, 60, said: “If you check, we played a lot of games that year. But it was injuries that got us more than tiredness.“In 850 games as a professional I never once said I was tired, and I wasn’t the only one.“We had much, much smaller squads. You played with injury. The concept of being in the red zone so they take you off didn’t exist. You ran through it.“Players have always pushed themselves to the edge, okay some of us may have two metal hips now because of it, but you take that.“I loved it. I thought ‘Yes, they’ll be knackered.’ Any weakness, you turn it into a positive.“So if I have two games in two days, so do they. It’s, ‘Let’s see if you are as fit as me’. It’s just the way elite sport is.”’I’M NOT SYMPATHETIC’Rodri has played 48 matches this season and is the beating heart of a City team chasing a league and cup double after exiting European competition in midweek.Nevin said: “I am not deeply sympathetic. Nobody is 100 per cent fit.“Rodri has the right to say it. But there are some I think, ‘Come on give us a break.’“In a different era, if you’d said you were too tired and didn’t play next week, somebody else would take your place and you might not get back in.“It doesn’t happen so much now. And if you are on £60,000, £70,000 a week does it matter if you don’t get in?“Back then it was your livelihood. So even if you did want a rest you couldn’t afford it. Not only did you lose your place in the team, but your wages.”The Full Members’ Cup was a substitute for European competition with English clubs banned following the 1985 Heysel Stadium riot.READ MORE SUN STORIESNevin said: “It was completely for the fans, They deserve it. They have waited since Peter Osgood and Charlie Cook. “I was fine after it. It’s not that I am Superman. I am a bit of an oddity.”David Speedie grabbed a hat-trick for the BluesCredit: GettyChelsea were 5-1 up with five minutes to goCredit: GettyCity scored in the 85th and 88th minutes before the controversial 89th-minute penaltyCredit: Getty More

A FOOTBALL clash descended into chaos after the referee was bitten TWICE by a snake.A game between GFS Leskovac Gornje Sinkovce and Radnik 2013 in Serbia was suddenly interrupted for the bizarre reason.One man decided to use his backpack to try and shove the serpent off the pitchThe incident happened during a game in SerbiaCredit: @fkgornjesinkovceThe game was halted as people tried to usher the serpent off the grass.Footage showed the referee, Aleksandar Gorcic, remaining calm as the snake slithered on.And in the video that has now gone viral someone off the pitch came in and bizarrely tried to throw out the snake with their backpack.But that did not work and the ref then stopped the snake in its tracks by putting his foot on it, picking it up and throwing it off the field.READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWSAnd fans could only praise Gorcic for his courageous act.As one said: “This needs to be sent to Uefa this referee deserves to referee the Champions League final.Another then put: “Hats off to the courage of the referee.”While another joked about the snake: “Who is the referee?”Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERAfter the match, reports in Serbia said Gorcic had been bitten twice by the reptile.The club have also confirmed that the snake was not injured.Football stars’ weird phobiasAccording to eyewitnesses, it is a non-poisonous snake, but it still can sink its fangs down, which is what the referee felt on his skin. More