NottinghamshireLive brings you the latest Nottingham Forest news, including Richard Keys’ reaction to Morgan Gibbs-White’s red card at Brighton.
Richard Keys has delivered his decision in the ongoing aftermath from Morgan Gibbs-White’s red card in the 83rd minute of Nottingham Forest’s 2-2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Reds ace was given his marching orders after receiving a second booking at the Amex Stadium on Sunday. However, the ruling and how referee Rob Jones arrived at his conclusion were not without criticism.
Nuno Espirito Santo, the Forest head coach, and Fabian Hurzeler, the Seagulls manager, were both fired for their reactions to the incident.
Gibbs-White was booked on the hour mark for fouling Georginio Rutter. Brighton had recovered from Chris Wood’s opener to lead the Reds 2-1 at the time.
With 20 minutes remaining, substitute Ramon Sosa leveled, but 13 minutes later, the visitors were reduced to ten men. Referee Jones first appeared to rule that Gibbs-White had won the ball when he tackled Joao Pedro, but then changed his mind and gave a red card.
Nuno and Hurzeler were then dismissed. Nuno’s assistant coach, Rui Pedro Silva, was booked when the away bench expressed their feelings.
The Reds were outraged by the officials’ decision-making process. It is known that the club believes what happened violated the advice Premier League teams were given at the start of the season.
Jones had originally formed the shape of a ball with his hands to signal a clean tackle, but Forest believes he was overruled by fourth official Anthony Taylor. Before the 2024/25 season began, referees’ body Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) informed clubs and coaching staff that on-field decisions will be backed in an effort to restore the balance between referee and VAR interventions.
Pundit Keys addressed the incident on his blog, writing: “Oh poor Rob Jones. What were your thoughts? Let’s go through the chain of events that resulted in three red cards at Brighton.
“Gibbs-White’s challenge on Pedro was ineffective, and he should have been booked. In fact, there is a chance he should have received a straight red.
“The issue in Brighton was that Jones found nothing wrong with Gibbs-White’s tackle. He obviously indicated that he believed Gibbs-White had possession of the ball by throwing it to Brighton.
“The fourth person, Antony Taylor, changed his mind. I understand there is always a conversation between the fourth and a match referee, but Taylor should not have gotten involved after Jones had made his judgment.”
