‘This isn’t about corruption, it’s about sheer incompetence’
At the time of writing, Nottingham Forest‘s statement on X has been viewed 40 million times. Or put another way, has been seen by as many people as roughly the entire population of Canada.
It has been “liked” over 169,000 times. For context, the club’s tweet celebrating their promotion to the Premier League immediately after the 2021-22 play-off final win over Huddersfield Town, attracted 100,000.
The statement came shortly after Forest’s costly 2-0 defeat to relegation rivals Everton on Sunday, when they had three strong penalty appeals turned down by referee Anthony Taylor and dismissed by VAR.
Jamie Carragher likened the 47-word post to something that would be said by a “fan in a pub”, while Gary Neville compared
Forest’s actions to that of a “petulant child”. Neville also called on the club’s “referee analyst” Mark Clattenburg to resign in solidarity with the officials. Instead, he doubled down on it in his Daily Mail column, calling the decisions that went against Forest “a joke”.
The post reads: “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.”
Reports claim the instruction to send the post came from the club’s hierarchy, and the Football Association has opened an investigation into whether a line has been crossed given the reference made to Luton-supporting Stuart Attwell, who was on VAR duty. The Hatters are just a point behind Forest in the table, with both clubs having four matches remaining.
Clearly, it has caused a huge stir and prompted a range of responses from football fans across the country. The club has drawn praise for publicly questioning the integrity of Premier League officiating, and condemnation for doing so in equal measure.
A couple of the most viewed comments underneath their post highlight the polarisation. “Huge respect for calling out the pathetic officiating in this league. More clubs should follow suit,” reads one message that has been seen 1.5 million times; “I can’t believe this is the official account tweeting this [head exploding emoji],” reads another with 1.1 million views.
Naturally, it has split those of a Forest persuasion too, even if the entire fanbase is seemingly in unanimous agreement that various decisions have gone against their side at various points throughout the campaign.
The 1865 podcast asked their followers whether or not they supported the statement in a poll, to which 64 per cent replied, “Yes, we’ve had enough” and 36 per cent responded, “No, it’s embarrassing”.
“It’s got a lot of criticism, particularly by media pundits,” Paul Severn, board member at the Nottingham Forest Supporters’ Trust tells i.
“However, I think speaking as a fan you view it differently to those pundits on Match of the Day or Sky Sports or whatever because you’re the one watching it every week and seeing almost unbelievable errors being made.
“I can think of six or seven games off the top of my head where it [officiating] has directly influenced a result. Penalties not being given, red cards not being given. There was the red card [to Willy Boly] against Bournemouth. These are errors that fans of all clubs are saying are horrendous mistakes and it’s one after another.
“This is supposed to be the world’s biggest league with the best players and the best matches and you have to ask if this system is fit for purpose, because it is having a huge impact on results and could cost clubs potentially hundreds of millions of pounds.
“You have to look at what’s behind the tweet, as well as whether it should have gone out or if it was the right forum.”
“The statement at full time has left me feeling embarrassed and ashamed,” Peter Blackburn, a journalist and contributor to the Forest Focus podcast, tells i.
“There was a time that this football club was the second team of many people around the country. Some of that stuff may be rosetinted, but the club has a proud history. Now we seem like petulant, angry children, and I can’t imagine anyone really admiring the way the club have behaved.
This is supposed to be the world’s biggest league and you have to ask if this system is fit for purpose
“I understand the frustrations of fans and, indeed, the club. Forest have been on the end of some stinking decisions and to have several in one game might make the most rational supporters or staff feel victimised... But this isn’t about corruption, it’s about sheer incompetence. To suggest otherwise is beneath us.”
The damaging defeat and ensuing saga has come hot on the heels of the club’s fiercely contested decision to increase season-ticket prices at the City Ground, despite it being far from clear which division the team will be playing in next season.
According to influential Forest supporter group Forza Garibaldi, some season tickets for young adults in the Brian Clough and Peter Taylor stands have risen from £190 to £850. A sense of injustice at refereeing decisions has added to the malaise felt by fans.
“It’s been an incredibly dispiriting time to be a Forest fan,” Blackburn says. “The season has been marred with uncertainty around the club’s finances and points deductions.
“Last week the football club divided the fan base – leaving many, including myself, outraged – by significantly increasing season ticket prices and leaving many fans wondering whether they could afford to keep going.”
Severn adds: “If Forest were to get relegated, then that makes the ticketing point even more heated as you’ll have prices charged at a Premier League level to watch Championship football.”
The loss at Goodison Park was especially dispiriting, not just edging Forest closer to the trapdoor but pushing Everton further clear of it. It increasingly looks as though two from Forest, Luton and Burnley will join doomed Sheffield United in the Championship next season.
Nuno Espirito Santo and Forest supporters will hope that the furore that followed Sunday’s game can help galvanise a group of players who feel that they have been let down by decisions all season.
Perhaps it will help forge an “us against the world” mentality ahead of fixtures against Manchester City and Chelsea at the City Ground either side of season-defining trips to Turf Moor and Bramall Lane. Maybe that was the motivation behind the post all along.