Nottingham Forest have lost their appeal against a £750,000 fine imposed by the Football Association for a social media post that criticized video assistant referee Stuart Attwell.
In October, Forest were fined for an “attack on the integrity of a match official on an unparalleled scale” following comments made about the officiating during their 2-0 Premier League defeat at Everton on April 21, 2024.
The club’s post on X (formerly Twitter) questioned three penalty decisions that went against them in the match.
Forest’s message claimed they had previously “warned” Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) that Attwell, who was the VAR for the game, was a supporter of relegation rivals Luton Town.
The post added that despite the warning, Attwell had not been replaced, stating: “Our patience has been tested multiple times.”
In response to the fine, Forest described the sanction as “disproportionate.”
However, on Monday, the FA confirmed that an appeal board had upheld the original decision.
“In our view, a heavy penalty was entirely merited for this very serious offence,” the board said in its written reasons.
“An aggravating feature of the offence was that the tweet was viewed by millions of people. In short, it went ‘viral’. This was predictable and no doubt intended.
“It was also predictable that it would cause great distress to the match officials and their families.”
Nottingham Forest Eye Top-Four Finish
Defeat to Everton left Forest just one point ahead of Luton, although they finished the season in 17th place, six points clear of the relegation zone. Luton were relegated.
Currently, Forest sit third in the table with 10 matches remaining this season.
Callum Hudson-Odoi scored late in the second half to secure a crucial Premier League victory for Nottingham Forest over fellow Champions League hopefuls Manchester City at the City Ground over the weekend.
The win sees Forest move four points clear of Man City.
