sport news Nottingham Forest 'could sue Sky over Gary Neville's mafia slur'… with FA set ... trends now
Nottingham Forest are considering legal action against Sky after pundit Gary Neville labelled their controversial statement following defeat at Everton like that of a ‘mafia gang’.
Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis was furious when his team were denied three penalties during the 2-0 loss at Goodison Park, with VAR Stuart Attwell seemingly choosing not to send referee Anthony Taylor to his pitchside monitor to review any of the decisions.
The club then posted on X that they had warned the PGMOL about Attwell being a fan of Luton Town, their relegation rivals.
Neville said: ‘It’s like a mafia-gang statement. I mean, honestly, what the hell are they playing at? It’s like a petulant child, it’s embarrassing. And some of those things they’re saying in there, the suggestion of some sort of inferring of cheating because there’s an official in VAR in Stockley Park who’s a Luton fan is a scandal, and they will pay for that.’
Mail Sport understands Forest’s legal team are now drafting a letter to Sky concerning Neville’s comments.
Nottingham Forest are considering legal action against Sky over Gary Neville's comments
Neville labelled their statement following the defeat at Everton like that of a ‘mafia gang’
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was furious his team were denied three penalties at Everton
The club privately accept they acted emotionally and with haste with regards to their statement, but that is unlikely to prevent a Football Association fine.
The FA have formally requested observations from the club, manager Nuno Espirito Santo, player Neco Williams and Mark Clattenburg — a consultant to the club’s board — following their post-game comments.
Nuno said, ‘if we were in another country we will start talking about conspiracy’, while Clattenburg, who was not responsible for the club statement, wrote in his Mail Sport column that the mistakes were ‘mind-boggling’. It was he who first raised the club’s concerns over Attwell during a phone call with PGMOL boss Howard Webb on Friday morning.
Forest have now formally requested the VAR audio from the game to be released publicly, ‘for full transparency, ensuring the integrity of our sport is upheld’. The club also want the Premier League to reconsider their rules on officials being involved in games that could have an impact on the team they support. They insist their concern is about ‘how the integrity of the game is seen’ and ‘not about individuals’.
Mail Sport understands Webb told Clattenburg he would not remove Attwell from duty when they spoke on Friday. During an eight-minute conversation, Webb said he did not know that
