Referees chief Howard Webb will hold peace talks with Nottingham Forest this week after furious statement blasting decisions and Stuart Attwell… with VAR audio set to be played at the meeting
- Webb will meet with Evangelos Marinakis or minority shareholder Sokratis Kominakis
- Nuno Espirito Santo may also be in attendance after controversy against Everton
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Referee chief Howard Webb will hold peace talks with the owners of Nottingham Forest this week, with VAR audio of their three penalties in Sunday’s controversial defeat to Everton to be played for the club.
Forest earlier this week requested access to referee Anthony Taylor’s conversations with VAR Stuart Atwell after criticizing the latter’s appointment for the match at Goodison Park on the grounds that he is a ‘Luton fan’, with refereeing body PGMOL was happy to accommodate this.
PGMOL’s protocol is to make VAR audio available to any club that requests it, with Webb planning to play the recordings in an online meeting to Forest this week, before their next match against Manchester City on Sunday.
Webb will also speak to one of Forest’s owners Evangelos Marinakis or minority shareholder Sokratis Kominakis, while manager Nuno Espirito Santo could also be present depending on the team’s training schedule.
Forest also requested the audio of the penalty appeals be made public, as PGMOL did last October after Liverpool’s defeat to Tottenham, when VAR officials Darren England and Dan Cook failed to overturn an offside decision as they wrongly believed Luis Diaz’s goal was awarded.
Referee chief Howard Webb will hold peace talks with the owners of Nottingham Forest this week
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was furious that his team were denied three penalties at Everton
Nottingham Forest will also receive audio from Sunday’s VAR PGMOL
PGMOL will not be following suit on this occasion, but as Mail Sport revealed yesterday, one of the incidents is likely to feature in next week’s Match Officials: Mic’d Up programme, which will feature Webb and Michael Owen’s recent refereeing decisions in the Premier League analyze.
Forest, Santo, Neco Williams and the club’s refereeing consultant Mark Clattenburg have all been asked for their comments by the FA and could be charged with misconduct for questioning Atwell’s integrity.
Although PGMOL is unhappy with Forest’s conduct, Webb’s willingness to meet with the club is indicative of their desire to resolve the matter amicably and put the controversy behind them.