Nottingham Forest has been in a constant battle with referees ever since their return to the Premier League. Who could forget the club’s official account expressing their discontent with referee Anthony Taylor’s decision in a controversial draw against Everton last season. The club claimed that VAR was biased due to the referee being a Luton Town fan.
This season, Nottingham Forest’s struggles with officiating continued, with three incidents causing uproar at the City Ground on Saturday.
In the first incident, Murillo’s challenge on Andreas Pereira was initially missed by the referee but was correctly awarded as a penalty after VAR review. The decision was deemed to be correct by the officials.
Similarly, Calvin Bassey’s challenge on Anthony Elanga also caused controversy, with contact being made but the attacker was seen as exaggerating the fall. Again, the officials were deemed to have made the right call.
However, the red card given to Morgan Gibbs-White against Brighton was criticized for the process not being handled correctly. Despite the referee initially indicating that the player had played the ball, a second yellow card was issued based on advice from another official, which was deemed incorrect.
Overall, there is a consensus that the standards of officiating have been slipping, but players also need to take responsibility for their actions on the field. Both referees and players need to find a better relationship to ensure respect is maintained on the pitch. A reduction in time-wasting and cheating is necessary, as well as a decrease in the number of yellow cards issued. This calls for a summit meeting between various football organizations to address these issues and work towards a more harmonious environment on the field.
