Portuguese were upset with the decision not to send off Jakub Moder for a lunging challenge on Neco Williams, which only resulted in a yellow card.
Nuno Espirito Santo has questioned whether there is a plot to relegate Nottingham Forest this season, as the head coach stated that he felt let down by yet another questionable refereeing decision.
A week after referee Paul Tierney’s gaffe at the City Ground, which could have lost Forest a point, referee Michael Salisbury elected to display Brighton’s Jakub Moder only a yellow card for what appeared to be a clear red-card offence after 67 minutes of a tight match.
The challenge started in midair and finished with the Poland midfielder’s studs in Neco Williams’ ankle. However, VAR Craig Pawson elected not to invite Salisbury to review the event again on the pitch-side monitor.
“What’s going on?” “Who wants to put us down?” Nuno, Forest’s manager, told the BBC afterwards.
In his subsequent news conference, he really let free. “It’s a clear red card, a bad mistake,” he told reporters. “Having an extra player makes a significant difference. We were on top of the game, and VAR made a poor decision. I don’t only judge the referee.
“Week after week. They apologized to us, but it didn’t mean anything. Everybody is aware of the mistakes. And I’m doing my best to be honest while remaining calm and respectful, but it’s not enough.
“Please tell me what is going on. Why is it always us? You should see the leg of Neco Williams. We do not believe in bullshit. It is a red card. It’s very evident. You know what will happen. In two days, they’ll apologize.
Nuno’s rage was shared by his players. “This is becoming ridiculous. Morgan Gibbs-White, Forest’s attacking midfielder, stated, “Honestly ridiculous.” “The number of rulings that have gone against us this season is unbelievable. I don’t want to say too much since I might get in trouble, but I have so many things to say. In two days, we will receive another apology.
With Forest pressing for an equaliser, the fate of the points was in doubt, and Nuno clearly believed an extra man advantage would have turned the outcome in Forest’ favor.
Moder, surprise, supported Salisbury’s on-field judgment. “I believe the referee knows better than me whether it is a yellow or a red. “He decided it was a yellow, and I believe him,” stated the Brighton midfielder.
Forest is known to have already filed four letters of complaint with PGMOL this season. Forest challenged two VAR decisions made by Rob Jones in the 3-2 defeat to Manchester United in August, followed by Danilo’s dismissal in December, again at the hands of Jones, who oversaw the 3-2 loss to Bournemouth.
Forest had complained in January about Brentford striker Ivan Toney taking a free kick from a wrong position in their 1-0 victory, before this weekend’s heated protests after Liverpool won 1-0 at the City Ground in the 99th minute thanks to Tierney’s drop-ball error.
Nuno insisted that his team’s passion was intact, but they rarely looked like scoring against a Brighton side that was less open and foolish than in previous games. Forest now has only one Premier League victory in eight games, and they have not won on the road since Boxing Day.
Brighton’s victory was anything but pretty, and it ended with an ugly own goal by Andrew Omobamidele, but Roberto De Zerbi’s side will not care. They broke their own recent three-game losing streak and extended their club-record run of unbeaten home games in the top league to 12 games.
The three hard-earned points were the perfect antidote to AS Roma’s 4-0 humiliation away on Thursday, but while that result likely means their European adventure is over, they showed evidence that they could still mount a fight to return to European action the following season.
This was only their third Premier League victory since the turn of the year, and they are still dealing with an injury list that is unlikely to improve in the short term, but they have climbed back to eighth place after sliding to tenth on Saturday.
“I’m very happy first of all for the reaction but i had no doubts of the human qualities of my players,” he remarked. “After the goal, we suffered, but we didn’t give up many shots. We now have to prepare for the game on Thursday.”
That will be the second leg against Roma, with the opportunity for redemption or a further damage to morale. However, they did not appear like a team reeling off a midweek defeat and went ahead after 29 minutes. Pascal Gross launched a free kick from the left targeted toward Moder’s head, but Omobamidele got there first, and the ball deflected lightly off his shoulder and into the net.
Forest swarmed Salisbury, and for a time it was unclear whether he had awarded a goal or not. But there was a lot more controversy to come.
