“Nottingham Forest’s Eventful Season and Managerial Change: A Look Ahead to Euro 2024”
In April, Nottingham Forest garnered attention with a strongly-worded statement criticizing referee Anthony Taylor and VAR for three decisions that went against them, describing the failure to award three penalties as ‘extremely poor’ and considering their options.
Sky Sports has since apologized to Nottingham Forest for comments made by pundit Gary Neville following their 2-0 defeat to Everton last season. The club had implied that VAR official Stuart Atwell was biased, being a Luton Town fan, which led to a strong reaction from a surprised Neville.
Neville didn’t hold back in his criticism of Forest, saying, “It’s like a mafia gang statement, honestly… what the hell are they playing at?”
Sky Sports has since issued a statement regarding Neville’s comments on April 21, saying they had spoken to him and he agreed not to use similar language in the future. They also apologized for any offense caused.
The statement read: “In response to Nottingham Forest’s statement about their grievances with PGMOL following their match with Everton on April 21, Gary Neville, commenting on Super Sunday, strongly criticized Nottingham Forest’s approach. Sky Sports has discussed the language used with Gary and its potential to cause offense.
Gary has agreed not to use the same or similar terms in future coverage. Sky Sports apologizes to Nottingham Forest for any offense caused by this language.”
Nottingham Forest’s initial statement read: “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.”
Nottingham Forest had a challenging season but managed to stay in the Premier League, finishing 17th with 32 points, six points ahead of Luton Town.
In December, Forest decided to sack manager Steve Cooper after losing five out of six games, and they brought in former Wolves and Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo as his replacement.
The England national team is among the favorites to win the Euro 2024 tournament this summer, and fans can purchase the new Nike home and away kits before the competition begins.
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