In the next few days Nottingham Forest will most likely receive two letters on their metaphorical doormat.
One will be an apology from the PGMOL for another refereeing error, the other will inform Nuno Espirito Santo that he is facing disciplinary action for his reaction to it.
The Forest head coach is not normally one for giving away his emotions in interviews. To be frank, he is not always the type to give much away at all, in his post-match press conferences. The Portuguese is a man who likes to keep his cards close to his chest.
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But in the space of seven minutes in the conference room at the Amex Stadium after Forest’s 1-0 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion, Nuno’s impassioned reaction to the latest in a catalogue of refereeing errors said a great deal, even beyond that one moment.
Nuno not only let his guard down: he went on the attack. When asked whether Brighton should have had a red card following Jakub Moder’s challenge on Neco Williams, Nuno went in with every bit as much force as the Brighton player.
In the 67th minute, Moder had been high, studs up and out of control but referee Michael Salisbury felt it was only worthy of a yellow card and a two-minute VAR review conducted by Craig Pawson decided that the decision should not be overturned.
Asked for his views on whether it should have been a red card, as part of the first question he faced, Nuno, clearly emotional, did not hold back.
“If you want to start with a question like that, we will stay for the whole press conference talking about that. Is that your question?” said Nuno. “It is a red card. It is a serious mistake. We do not know how the game would end, but in football, having an extra player on the pitch makes a big, big difference. We were on top in the game, we were dominant, we were creating problems for Brighton.
“It was a bad, bad decision from VAR. I do not judge only the referee. But I have seen the images. It is a clear red card.
“It is week after week. Week after week, they apologise to us. But it does not mean anything to us. We are in a tough position and we need respect.”
Of all the recent decisions that have gone against Forest — the red card shown to Willy Boly against Bournemouth, the penalty decisions against Newcastle United and West Ham United, Ivan Toney being allowed to move the ball and the referee’s marker foam unchallenged at Brentford and referee Paul Tierney giving possession back to Liverpool, deep into added time at the City Ground last weekend — this was as baffling as any.
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It is precisely because of moments like this that Forest appointed Mark Clattenburg, the former FIFA and Premier League referee, in an advisory role. Unusually, Clattenburg conducted media interviews in the aftermath of last weekend’s 1-0 defeat by Liverpool, with Nuno admitting he was grateful to be spared having to talk about match officials.
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But this time, it felt as though Nuno was happy to vent.
“Everyone is aware of the mistakes. I do not know how many. But it is a lot. I am trying to be honest, I am trying to keep myself calm, to be respectful, but it is enough,” he continued. “The press, people will talk about the result. But against West Ham, they did not give us a penalty. Why? Why did they not? Why did Paul Tierney give the ball back to Liverpool? Why did we not get a penalty against Newcastle?
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“All these things… it is enough. Please, somebody tell me what is going on? Why always us? What is going on? Do you want me to continue? I will continue. I arrived in England some years ago, the referees… they have lost some strong, experienced referees (since then). Now the new referees are coming through, they need time and they need sympathy to become better. But we do not have time.
“I am asking you… what is going on? I do not want to go that way, because I will get myself in trouble. But what is going on? Why is it always us?”
Nuno is unlikely to be putting a call in to former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli to ask if he can borrow his famous ‘Why always me?’ T-shirt just yet. But the Forest head coach could be forgiven for feeling the same sense of victimisation, as well as a broader weight of pressure, at a time when the challenges he and the club are facing are rapidly mounting up.
By the time Forest face relegation rivals Luton Town on Saturday, the Premier League table could have changed again, with the addition of an asterisk. Forest hold a three-point advantage over Luton, the team who occupy the final relegation spot, in 18th. But they await the conclusions of the hearing to decide what their punishment will be for breaching profit and sustainability rules. That news should come by Friday.
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They could start the game in the bottom three, if any points deduction is greater than three points.
But Forest can argue that their points tally should be higher. They were certainly on course for a hard-fought draw against Liverpool and this decision against Brighton came at a time when they were pushing hard for an equaliser after an Andrew Omobamidele own goal had put the home side in front.
Who knows how this game would have turned out had Brighton been reduced to 10 men. Nuno’s first game in charge, against Bournemouth in December, saw them beaten by a late goal, after playing for an hour with 10 men.
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They are right to feel a sense of injustice, even if the list of problems facing Nuno extends to far more than just refereeing decisions.
This was the 18th time Forest have conceded from a set piece this season, which is the most in the division. Since promotion, Forest have lost 22 away Premier League games and conceded 73 goals on the road, both the most in the division during this period.
The last of the four wins Forest have secured in 16 games in all competitions under Nuno — a 2-0 victory over West Ham on February 17 — has now been followed by four consecutive defeats.
Forest will get an apology, but any fines handed out to Nuno will simply add to the sense of injustice. The only thing that will make the team feel better in their fight to avoid relegation is a victory at Luton. It is down to them to make sure that happens, regardless of the challenges they face along the way.
| Position | Team | Games played | Goal difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 28 | 46 | 64 | |
2 | 28 | 39 | 64 | |
3 | 28 | 35 | 63 | |
4 | 28 | 18 | 55 | |
5 | 27 | 20 | 53 | |
6 | 28 | 0 | 47 | |
7 | 28 | -4 | 43 | |
8 | 28 | 6 | 42 | |
9 | 28 | -2 | 41 | |
10 | 27 | 12 | 40 | |
11 | 26 | 1 | 36 | |
12 | 28 | -4 | 35 | |
13 | 27 | -12 | 32 | |
14 | 28 | -15 | 29 | |
15 | 28 | -12 | 26 | |
16 | 28 | -10 | 25* | |
17 | 28 | -16 | 24 | |
18 | 27 | -17 | 21 | |
19 | 28 | -35 | 14 | |
20 | 28 | -50 | 14 | |
*Deducted six points |
(Top photo: David Horton – CameraSport via Getty Images)