Nottingham Forest’s Premier League match against Manchester City on April 28th will be officiated by Simon Hooper, marking the first time he has overseen a Forest match since opting not to send off Tottenham’s James Maddison in a game against Nuno Espirito Santo’s team earlier this month.
Forest are looking to rebound from a controversial defeat at Everton on Sunday, in which they believe they should have been awarded three penalties for incidents involving veteran defender Ashley Young. The relegation-threatened side released a furious statement on social media slamming the decisions and have since doubled down on their criticism of the officiating, demanding that the VAR audio from the match be made public.
Anthony Taylor was the on-field referee for Sunday’s loss at Goodison Park, with Stuart Attwell as the VAR official. Neither will be involved at the City Ground on April 28th when Forest host title contenders Manchester City. Taylor has been chosen as the referee for West Ham vs. Liverpool, with Attwell taking charge of the London derby between Fulham and Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage.
In a statement released on Monday, Nottingham Forest confirmed that they have submitted a formal request to the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) to release the audio recordings between officials during the match against Everton. The club has requested that the audio be shared for three key match incidents involving Ashley Young and Forest players Giovanni Reyna, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Brennan Johnson.
“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),” the Forest statement read. “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.”
It remains to be seen whether Forest’s request will be honored. They have also yet to find out whether their communications, both public and private, will bring any further repercussions. In addition to their public response, Forest’s match and performance analyst Mark Clattenburg is understood to have spoken with PGMOL chief Howard Webb. Clattenburg, who took up his role midway through the season, is not believed to have raised the subject of VAR official Attwell being a fan of fellow strugglers Luton Town.
Sunday’s referee Hooper, who was also in charge of the midweek game between Arsenal and Chelsea, has taken charge of two Forest matches this season. He was the man in the middle for Forest’s home defeat to Arsenal in January, as well as their 3-1 reverse away to Tottenham in early April, in which Forest felt Maddison should have been sent off.
“It’s a red card,” Nuno told the BBC after the game. “I was surprised VAR didn’t [send Maddison off]. Maddison lost composure and punched [Ryan] Yates in the stomach. What they saw clearly is not the same as we saw. I wouldn’t speak if I wasn’t 100 per cent sure.”
Hooper, who will be assisted by Peter Bankes on VAR, oversaw defeats for Forest against Newcastle, Arsenal, and Manchester United last season. He has awarded two penalty kicks in 21 Premier League games this season, both for Manchester United in their 2-0 victory over Everton.
