10 March 2024 , 17:50
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Nottingham Forest are again pointing the finger at referees following their loss at Brighton, with manager Nuno Espirito Santo suggesting "someone wants to put us down".
Forest were beaten 1-0 at the Amex thanks to an own goal from defender Andrew Omobamidele. However, they felt Seagulls midfielder Jakub Moder should have been sent off for a reckless challenge on Neco Williams.
Referee Michael Salisbury disagreed and only showed Moder a yellow card, with VAR official Craig Pawson also deeming a booking sufficient punishment. And when asked about the incident after the game, Nuno fumed: "It is a red card.
"It is week after week I am trying to avoid... but you go back to the dressing room and see us as professionals... week after week. Week after week. What is going on? Someone wants to put us down? We received the referees they apologise, they make mistakes.
"VAR stops the game, it is a clear red card. It is week after week. That is enough. We come to a point that we try to understand, we don't judge them, terrible mistakes costing us points. You go into the dressing room and say 'let's keep on going' but it is enough.
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"We want better decisions. We will fight until the end. Everybody is fighting, but we have to say something and ask for good decisions. It is a clear red card. A clear red card. Someone tell me it is not a red card, am I saying something really stupid? I am just being honest."
It is the latest in a string of contentious decisions that have gone against Forest this season, with the club now employing former Premier League official Mark Clattenburg as a referees' consultant. And when asked if he had spoken to Clattenburg about Moder's challenge, Nuno said: "I have not spoken with him but I saw the images so clear.
"Again we are going to send a letter to them and they apologise. Someone tell me what is happening. It is week after week. Last week it cost us a point at Newcastle. All these situations. It is enough.
"We will keep on fighting. We will regroup. We will analyse the game and prepare for the Luton game. It will be tough but we will be ready. I am just asking in a very honest way, tell me why. Why always us?"
Nottingham Forest were not happy with the referee's decision not to send off Jakub Moder (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)Star players Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood also criticised the officials. Gibbs-White gave a particularly scathing assessment of the "ridiculous" decision, stating: "It is getting ridiculous. Honestly ridiculous. The amount of decisions that have gone against us is outrageous this season.
"I don't want to speak so much because I could get into trouble, so many things I want to say. In two days time we will get an apology again." Wood, meanwhile, said: "I haven't seen it back so I can't comment too much but from my position on the pitch, it looked like he collected him very healthily, lets put it that way.
"If the referee gave red then it wouldn't have been overturned. We have to control what we can control, we can't control referees. We have not had much luck with referees this season. We have been in this position before. It is still in our hands and that is what you want in the Premier League."
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