Nottingham Forest, their manager Nuno Espirito Santo, and defender Neco Williams have been accused of misconduct by the Football Association, while former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has opted to step down from his role with the club. The FA has taken action against Nuno and Williams for their remarks after the 2-0 loss at Everton last month, while Clattenburg has been warned about his future conduct.
The FA has alleged that the comments made by the club, manager, and player constitute improper conduct as they imply bias, question the integrity of the match officials, and bring the game into disrepute. Nottingham Forest, Nuno, and Williams have until Thursday to respond to the charge.
Forest expressed their frustration after three penalty decisions went against them and released a strongly worded statement on social media shortly after the final whistle, which was viewed over 45 million times. They claimed that they had informed the referees’ body that the video assistant referee (VAR) was allegedly a fan of relegation rivals Luton. Despite the critical post on social media, it was reported that Forest did not request for the VAR to be replaced prior to the match.
Boss Nuno, Williams, and Clattenburg have been asked for their observations by the FA, with Nuno confirming that he had responded. The Premier League has also confirmed that it will investigate the comments made by the club.
These developments come as Clattenburg has chosen to step down from his role, citing that his position had become more of a hindrance than help to the club. Clattenburg started working with the relegation-threatened Premier League side as a referee analyst in February. His involvement in high-profile incidents following refereeing decisions in Forest matches, including the loss at Goodison Park, has led to unintended friction between Forest and other participants, according to Clattenburg.
Clattenburg publicly criticized referee Paul Tierney after a late winner was scored for Liverpool at the City Ground earlier in the season, stating that Forest should have been given the ball back after the match was stopped for an earlier foul. He also mentioned being prevented from speaking to Tierney after the game. Last month, Forest released a strongly worded statement on social media following the defeat by Everton, indicating that they were “considering their options” after three penalties were not awarded in their favor.
Former Manchester United defender and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville suggested that Clattenburg should resign, which led to the former referee repeating the criticism in a subsequent newspaper column. Confirming his decision to leave almost two weeks later, Clattenburg stated that he had performed his services under the consultancy agreement in good faith but now believes that it has caused unintended friction between Nottingham Forest and other participants, to the extent that it has become more of a hindrance than help to Nottingham Forest.