Nottingham Forest charged by FA over fuming referee post while Mark Clattenburg leaves club role

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo and defender Neco Williams have been charged with misconduct by the Football Association after comments made following their controversial defeat to Everton last month.

The club published an agitated statement shortly after the loss at Goodison Park, in which they alleged that VAR Stuart Attwell was a Luton fan and biased against Forest after they had three penalty appeals turned down.

Both Nuno and Welsh international Williams then made remarks on the game’s officiating in their post-match media duties, for which they have been charged.

The FA said: “Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espirito Santo and Neco Williams have been charged with misconduct in relation to comments that they made after their Premier League game against Everton on Sunday 21 April.

“It’s alleged that the club, manager and player’s comments constitute improper conduct in that they imply bias and/or question the integrity of the match officials and/or bring the game into disrepute."

The club, manager and player have until Thursday 9 May to respond.

Forest’s statement, posted to X five minutes after the game, said: “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.”

And speaking to Sky Sports, an incensed Williams said: “It’s three clear, blatant penalties. Everyone watching that game knew they were penalties. They were clear.

“Every single week this happens now, we are getting decisions against us. I don’t know why – is it because we are lower-bottom half of the table, because I guarantee all of the top-six teams, they are getting every single one of them.”

Nuno, who joined Forest in December of last year, added his frustration, saying he “didn’t understand” why Attwell or Taylor didn’t give either of the penalties and said this was a consistent thing that the club have had to deal with.

Mark Clattenburg has also resigned from his role as a referee analyst working for Nottingham Forest.

Clattenburg had been working for the Premier League club in a consultancy capacity since February, but has decided to step down from the role as he believes he has become "more of a hindrance than help" to Forest and says he has targeted by "certain participants and pundits" since being in the role.

In an official statement on Nottingham Forest's website, Clattenburg said: “This is to announce that I will no longer be providing match analysis services to Nottingham Forest Football Club.

"Since February this year, I have been proud to have done so under a consultancy agreement between NFFC and Referee Consultant Ltd.

“I performed my services under the consultancy agreement in good faith, to the best of my abilities and in the hope of using my extensive experience as a match official to help NFFC understand how decisions in relation to key match incidents are made amid the workings of VAR.

“However, it is now clear that the existence and performance of these consultancy services has caused unintended friction between NFFC and other participants, to the extent that it has become more of a hindrance than help to NFFC.

“It has also led to the unmerited targeting of me, personally, by certain participants and pundits. Such reactions and outcome was not expected and is regrettable, as it is my sincere belief that there is a place for and value in such a role in the modern game.

“I am grateful to NFFC and wish them all the best during the remainder of the season and in the future. It’s been an honour."

Clattenburg's role received media focus after Forest released a statement following their defeat to Everton in the Premier League in April, claiming they were considering their options over what they called "extremely poor" refereeing decisions.

Nuno Espirito Santo's side lost 2-0 at Goodison Park, after goals by Idrissa Gueye and Dwight McNeil, leaving the club 17th in the Premier League table.

Forest accused Stuart Attwell, the VAR, of being a Luton fan in a post on X (formerly Twitter) and suggested they were denied three penalties by referee Anthony Taylor.

"Three extremely poor decisions - three penalties not given - which we simply cannot accept," the statement read.

"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."

After the match, former Manchester United defender and TV pundit Gary Neville called for the 49-year-old to leave Forest. Clattenburg repeated his criticism of the match officials in a newspaper column later on Sunday.

A day later, Forest requested that the PGMOL release their audio recordings from the game into the public domain.

Back in March, Clattenburg criticised referee Paul Tierney after Darwin Nunez scored a late winner for Liverpool at the City Ground.

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