Nottingham Forest will be without Morgan Gibbs-White against Fulham after his red card in the draw with Brighton
No sooner had he confronted Joao Pedro with 83 minutes of Nottingham Forest’s encounter with Brighton & Hove Albion gone, Morgan Gibbs-White instantly jumped up and threw a defiant poke of the finger.
The Reds ace certainly felt he had done his bit for the squad at a key stage of the game at the Amex Stadium. At that point, the visitors had evened the score and were on track to extend their season-long unbeaten streak to five games.
Gibbs-White has donned the Forest armband. Even when he is not at his mesmerizing best, he always gives his all to the cause. His passion is never in question. He cares; it is clear anytime he plays, and much more so after last Sunday.
“In that moment, Morgan made that effort for the team,” head coach Nuno Espirito Santo said during his pre-match press conference on Thursday. “We were unbalanced, knowing that any goal in that moment of the game would be decisive.” It is emotional; we are under a lot of pressure.”
Gibbs-White clearly got the ball with his full-throttle tackle. However, the other side of the argument is that he got a fair share of the man. And, while referee Rob Jones first appeared to signal that the challenge was acceptable by mimicking the shape of a ball with his hands, it appears that fourth official Anthony Taylor intervened, causing him to change his mind and award the red card.
Hence Forest became known as “the mess” by Nuno. That is where the club’s genuine problem resides, with the referee’s inconsistent performance. They view Taylor getting involved to be going against instructions released at the start of the season that on-field decisions would be backed in an effort to correct the balance between referee and VAR interventions.
The decision of the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents panel will only aggravate Forest’s predicament. Three panelists thought Jones was wrong to dismiss Gibbs-White, while two called it a “reckless tackle”.
Nuno reiterated on Thursday that the KMI split would not undermine public trust in authorities. “Not at all.” We are certain that referees have made significant efforts to improve and correct mistakes without interfering with the game,” he said.
“We trust them and are here to help them. But the game remains the game. Until today, I’ve seen the image several times and am occasionally unsure. Sometimes it seems like a yellow card, while other times it appears to be a good tackle. It’s a difficult one to judge. That is why I believe we, as a club, and all clubs, should support the referee since it is a difficult task.”
The match officials definitely have a very difficult job. However, the players also have to walk a tight line between demonstrating devotion and going too far. It can sometimes be a case of weighing risk versus benefit.
Emotions were running high on the southern coast. The Football Association charged Nuno and Gibbs-White earlier this week with “acting in an improper manner” and/or “using abusive and/or insulting words” against officials.
Nuno is likely to request a hearing regarding the incident. The Reds will most likely utilize the KMI panel’s decision to mitigate the Portuguese’s outrage.
Gibbs-White will undoubtedly feel wronged. He apologised to Nuno and his teammates following the game. He had given the referee a decision to make after being booked, but Nuno would not allow the England international to lose his battling spirit or commitment to give his best for the squad.
“That shows the commitment required to compete,” Nuno joked. Gibbs-White will be unable to compete against Fulham on Saturday (3pm kick-off) while serving his suspension, but you can guarantee that when he returns, he will be just as committed to the cause. Forest wouldn’t want it any other way.
