VAR audio of penalty appeals released from Nottingham Forest’s controversial defeat at Everton

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VAR audio of the three penalty appeals have been released from Nottingham Forest’s controversial Premier League defeat at Everton.


Howard Webb, the head of Premier League refereeing, will acknowledge that Nottingham Forest should have been awarded a penalty.


However, despite this admission, Forest is expected to face four charges from the Football Association (FA) due to their reaction to the match at Goodison Park on the 21st of April.


The club firmly believed that referee Anthony Taylor made incorrect decisions by not awarding them three penalties, all involving Ashley Young.






Nott’m Forest’s penalty appeals v Everton

Owen: “We’re going to start off by discussing Everton against Nottingham Forest back in Matchweek 34, a game that generated a lot of headlines, Howard.”


Webb: “It did, mainly centered around three penalty decisions. Nottingham Forest thought that three situations should have led to the award of penalty kicks for them. We’re going to talk about the third of those in a moment.


“The first two we felt were really subjective calls. The first one involving some contact from Ashley Young on Gio Reyna. There was contact. The referee saw that but didn’t feel it was impactful enough to penalise. We’ve set quite a high threshold for penalising contact all over the field really, but also in the penalty area. It’s what the game has asked us to do.


“Not every single contact is a foul and this was one where there was quite minimal contact, consistent with other situations that we’ve waved away this season. The VAR quite rightly checked that one.


“The second one was a handball penalty situation. Ashley Young involved again. The ball hits his arm. He’s moving as he tries to close a shot down from short distance and the referee deemed that the arm was in a natural position and the VAR check completed that one as well – quite understandably, in this subjective zone of handball. So we thought that both of those situations were in line with our expectations.”


Forest’s third penalty appeal v Everton

Incident: Everton’s Ashley Young goes into a challenge with Nottingham Forest’s Callum Hudson-Odoi in the match at Goodison Park. Young attempts to play the ball inside his own penalty box and there is a tangle of legs.


What the match officials did: Referee Anthony Taylor believes Young plays the ball. VAR officials Stuart Attwell and Simon Long believe there isn’t sufficient contact by Young to overrule Taylor’s decision, nor call on him to review it.


Owen: “Everyone I’ve spoken to thinks that was a penalty. Explain how VAR came to that decision.”


Webb: “I understand why we would have preferred an intervention on this situation. The referee waves away the penalty appeal. The VAR looks at it and asks himself the question, ‘Was the non-award clearly and obviously wrong?’ and came to the conclusion it wasn’t. You hear him describing two players tussling for the ball. He doesn’t see a clear action by Young that he considers to be worthy of intervention, one that reaches the threshold of being very clear.


“But we would have preferred an intervention for the referee to go to the screen to make a judgement for himself in this situation and probably would have come out with a different outcome if that would’ve happened.”


Owen: “OK, during that audio, we hear Anthony Taylor mention that he thinks the ball was won by the defender Ashley Young. When the VAR quite clearly sees the ball isn’t won, shouldn’t that just straight away instigate, ‘Right, you’ve seen it wrong. Go to the monitor,’ or not?


Webb: “We did hear Anthony Taylor in the footage there say that he believed the ball had been played by Ashley Young, and we know that’s not the case. We know only Callum Hudson-Odoi touches the ball. The first job of the VAR is to look at the footage available and make the judgement, ‘Was the on-field decision clearly wrong?’ You could have a situation where the referee describes that the ball has been played by the defender. But actually when the VAR looks at it, sees that’s not the case, but it’s still not a penalty. It might be that the attacker has simulated, for example.


“So you can’t only rely on what the referee is saying to make the judgement of whether something is clearly and obviously wrong. But if there’s a VAR, you’re looking at it thinking, ‘Is it clearly wrong or not?’ You can absolutely factor in what the referee says as well. And if there’s a particular aspect like, ‘Who’s played the ball?’ it’s an important aspect that can be factored in to give the confidence to the VAR that, ‘Yes, the referee needs to go to the screen because I believe this is clearly and obviously wrong.’


“And that’s what should have happened on this occasion. But primarily they’re there to look at the footage and form an opinion. Is the on-field decision clearly wrong in their professional judgement? We would have preferred such an intervention in this case.”


Owen: “Players make mistakes. Goalkeepers, referees, everyone makes mistakes. But on the referee’s side of things, how can you prevent things like this happening in the future? Or do people just have to accept that mistakes will be made?”


Webb: “Yeah, the game is played by human beings, it’s officiated by human beings. And obviously our job is to try to ensure that we have a positive impact on the game by identifying correct decisions on the field. This wasn’t one. And then when that doesn’t happen, the VAR consistently recognises when an error has happened on the field and steps in.


“But of course they’re humans making judgements as well so we always are trying to reduce the number of errors that we make. We get together on a regular basis more than ever before with our VARs to train. We share loads of information online. We give guidance to the officials, we share discussions around why something didn’t work out in the way that it should. And then ultimately we share that final information to try to ensure that the learning is taken out of every situation and, year on year, reduce those number of errors to the minimal amount that we can.”











Straight after the game, Nottingham Forest issued a social media post, intimating that VAR Stuart Attwell may have been influenced into not intervening because he is a Luton fan.


NOTTINGHAM FOREST STATEMENT #1 (21 April, 3:37pm)


Three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept.


We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn’t change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times.


NFFC will now consider its options.


NOTTINGHAM FOREST STATEMENT #2 (22 April, 3:22pm)


Nottingham Forest has today submitted a formal request to the PGMOL to release into the public domain the audio recordings between officials during yesterday’s match against Everton at Goodison Park.


The club has requested this be shared for three key match incidents – Ashley Young’s challenge on Giovanni Reyna (24th minute), Ashley Young’s handball (44th minute) and Ashley Young’s challenge on Callum Hudson-Odoi (56th minute).


We firmly advocate for the broader football community and supporters to have access to the audio and transcript for full transparency, ensuring the integrity of our sport is upheld.


FA STATEMENT (22 April, 5:15pm)


We have formally requested observations from Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espirito Santo, Neco Williams and Mark Clattenburg as a result of their comments following their Premier League match against Everton on Sunday 21 April. We will provide any further updates in due course.


PREMIER LEAGUE STATEMENT (22 April, 5:31pm)


The Premier League was extremely disappointed to read the comments made by Nottingham Forest on social media yesterday, following its match against Everton.


We note The FA has confirmed it will be investigating the club’s statement. It is never appropriate to improperly question the integrity of match officials, and the nature of these comments means the Premier League will also be investigating the matter in relation to the League’s Rules.


NOTTINGHAM FOREST STATEMENT #3 (22 April, 5:50pm)


Following yesterday’s match at Everton, NFFC issued a statement highlighting our concern at the perception of the PGMOL appointment of VAR for the game. This was an issue we raised with PGMOL prior to the fixture because of the fear of the side show that would ensue if anything went wrong with officiating in the game. That fear has materialised, as the correctness of three important decisions against the Club have been called into doubt.


This is not about individuals but rather how the integrity of the game is seen. We know match officials do not allow outside factors to influence their decision-making and that all referees are required to declare their ‘allegiances’ to PGMOL to avoid any perceived conflict or harm to the game’s reputation for integrity.


However, it is clear PGMOL must amend its rule on allegiances to account for contextual rivalries in the league table, not just local rivalries. This is currently not within the criteria but should be. Mere reliance on match officials to recuse themselves if contextual rivalries exist invites conjecture, as some have recused themselves where others have not.


NFFC stands by its request for greater transparency around PGMOL appointments to further protect the game’s reputation, as intended in PGMOL’s existing approach to allegiances.


Given the widespread and ongoing concerns, not merely of the fans, players and managers of this Club but of many others and the pundits too, over VAR decisions throughout this season any move which boosts confidence in the system should be properly considered.



The club, boss Nuno Espirito Santo, defender Neco Williams and “referee analyst” Mark Clattenburg are all due to be charged while the Premier League is also considering charging Forest for not acting “with the utmost good faith”.


Despite the ruling of the Premier League’s Key Match Incident panel, which consists of former players, managers, and referees who analise every VAR decision, it has been determined that the first “foul” committed by Young on Claudio Reyna was not a penalty, and the appeal for handball did not meet the criteria for intervention.


However, the third incident, where Taylor concluded that Young had touched the ball before making contact with Callum Hudson-Odoi, was deemed a foul. Attwell should have noticed this and instructed the referee to review the incident on the pitchside monitor and issue a penalty.


Howard Webb, in his review of the third penalty shout on the latest episode of “Match Officials Mic’d Up,” which was recorded on Monday night and will be aired on Tuesday evening, is believed to agree that an error was made.


SEE MORE: Ashley Young smirks during interview as he’s asked about Nottingham Forest penalty appeals


SEE MORE: Mark Clattenburg fumes over Nottingham Forest VAR ‘joke’ after Gary Neville tells him to resign


SEE MORE: Jamie Carragher slams Nottingham Forest’s explosive statement claiming “VAR is a Luton fan”


SEE MORE: “Top six teams get them penalties” – Neco Williams rages over Nottingham Forest treatment


After suffering a defeat against Everton, Forest were dealt with another setback as they were defeated 2-0 at home by Manchester City.


This latest loss has now extended their winless streak to four matches. Currently, they occupy the 17th position in the league, just one point ahead of Luton and two points ahead of Burnley.


With only three games left in the season, Nuno’s side will first face Sheffield United, who have already been relegated, on Saturday.


Following that, they will have a home match against Chelsea on the 11th of May.


Finally, they will travel to Burnley for their last game, which could potentially determine their survival in the league.




Twitter users reacted as VAR audio of the penalty appeals get released from Nottingham Forest’s controversial defeat at Everton…


@HLTCO: I am once again here to say that all audio from every game with VAR should be available, not just selected fixtures. Cheers.


@Tnewton_1988: I’m telling you now they’re watching something completely different! Absolute waffle! It’s clear they have never played the game! Unbelievable decision making! #nffc


@trickyterra2: I’m sorry but what is Attwell doing? That’s not a mistake that is him coming from an angle of not wanting to give a penalty. He doesn’t ask anyone else for their thoughts as in other examples we’ve seen #nffc


@BelperRed96: Corrupt bastards @FA_PGMOL the lot of you, that’s an absolute disgrace #nffc


@DavidThomp13137: “Mutual engagement” from behind 🤡🤡


@NFFCJaall: There it is. Exactly what we were waiting for. Incompetence of the highest order from two of the worst officials that have ever refereed a football match


@Draozk: Tussle! 😂😂😂 Ashley Young is caught wrong side and tries to tackle through him to get the ball. What else is there to say. You shouldn’t even need VAR for this and they’ve still got it wrong with time, replays and multiple angles. Absolute jokers 🤡 #NFFC


@cosmo_nffc: not only have they fucked up the very easy process of just awarding the rightful penalties, but they also fucked up the apology and admitting they fucked up. bunch of clueless wankers.


@ClaireNffc_xo: They called it a ‘tussle’ 😭😂



@GlenElvidge: Poor bloke only had 16 different camera angles, of course it looks like a “tussle” 😂#nffc


@samevansnffc: Premier League, corrupt as fuck. No two ways about it. I refuse to accept that what we have just heard is simply incompetence. They are literally making things up and going with it! #NFFC


@fance10: #nffc can we question his integrity now, or just his eyesight. A sliding tackle from behind is a tussle according to our flagship VAR.


@gemlford: VAR checked the penalty! VAR didn’t check the penalty! Think someone should get their stories straight here @FA_PGMOL 🤣 can’t add VAR after the game after claiming it wasn’t checked 🤦‍♀️ Funny how the tweet has been deleted! Also haven’t admitted if Attwell is a Luton fan #NFFC


@PeterOHanrahaH: It was a tackle from behind and he didn’t get the ball, so obvious. Attwell the twat clearly didn’t want to give a penalty there, tussle for fucks sake. #nffc


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