Keith Wyness, former Everton CEO, thinks Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis’ response to being photographed on the pitch following their defeat to Liverpool last week was “understandable”.
Speaking on the latest episode of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old, who was CEO at Goodison Park from 2004 to 2009 and now operates a football consultancy that advises elite clubs, stated that Forest had now had several poor refereeing decisions this season.
On Saturday (2 March), Forest lost 1-0 at Liverpool, with Darwin Nunez scoring the only goal in the 99th minute after referee Paul Tierney incorrectly handed the visitors possession during a drop-ball.
Following the game, Forest owner Marinakis was seen on the pitch complaining to officials, and coaching staff were also involved in the altercation.
Football Insider investigated fan reactions to the incident, with some describing the situation as “terrifying”.
Marinakis’ scenes are the latest in a string of Nottingham Forest ‘incidents’.
“It was almost understandable that Marinakis reacted this way,” Wyness explained to Football Insider.
“Forest has had a series of events, which is why they’ve hired Clattenburg as their referee advisor.
“It’s because this isn’t the first occurrence; there have been three, four, or five that have pushed them in that direction.
“They appear to have numerous examples of some extremely poor calls.
“I understand the happened over the weekend; the referee did not correctly enforce the game’s rules.
“So, when it comes to the ninth minute of injury time and the referees break a rule, you’re going to be outraged.
“We all know how much relegation means to these clubs and Marinakis has obviously not only invested emotionally but massively financially.”
