Nottingham Forest's appeal against a hefty fine for criticizing a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) on social media has been dismissed by an independent appeal board. The Premier League club was fined 750,000 pounds ($969,525) last October for posts on Twitter that questioned the impartiality of VAR official Stuart Attwell.
Forest were incensed after being denied three penalty claims in a 2-0 defeat to Everton last April. Minutes after the game, they posted on Twitter that Attwell was a fan of Luton Town, a rival in the relegation battle.
Forest denied that the posts implied any bias or questioned the integrity of the match officials, but they were still fined and issued a warning for misconduct. The club subsequently appealed the decision, but the appeal board has upheld the original ruling.
The FA statement also ordered Forest to remove the social media post in question. Forest, who were also docked four points for breaching the league's financial rules, avoided relegation last season after finishing 17th. Luton, who finished 18th, were relegated.
This season, Forest have fared much better and currently sit third in the standings ahead of their trip to Ipswich Town on Saturday.
5 Comments
Martin L King
Forest needs to focus on football, not wild conspiracy theories.
G P Floyd Jr
Sore losers always blame officials. Time Nottingham Forest owned up to their poor performance.
Rolihlahla
Glad the appeal failed—clubs must learn harsh consequences for irresponsible online behavior.
G P Floyd Jr
These posts risked bringing the game into disrepute; the club deserves every penny of that fine.
dedus mopedus
The league made the right call; integrity of match officials should remain unquestioned.