Clattenburg leaves Nottingham Forest after VAR reaction

Mark Clattenburg has left his role as Nottingham Forest’s refereeing advisor, the Premier League club announced on Friday.

The former Premier League referee was appointed to the role in February. Since then, the club has been involved in several refereeing controversies and has been criticized for making several statements against decisions made by video assistant referees (VAR).

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)

“As of February of this year, I am proud to have done so under a consulting agreement between NFFC and Referee Consultant Ltd,” Clattenburg said in a statement.

“I provided my services under the consultancy agreement in good faith, to the best of my ability and in the hope of using my extensive experience as a match referee to help the NFFC understand how decisions are made in relation to key match incidents in means of VAR operation.

“However, it is now clear that the existence and performance of these consulting services have caused unintentional friction between NFFC and other participants, to the extent that they have become more of a hindrance than a help to NFFC. It has also led to an undeserved focus on me, personally, by certain participants and experts.

“These reactions and results were not expected and it is unfortunate as I truly believe there is a place and value for that role in modern football.”

Forest reacted angrily to a series of sanctions they considered unfair, calling into question the integrity of VAR Stuart Attwell, a Luton Town supporter who is in a battle with Forest to avoid relegation.

“Three extremely bad decisions, three penalties not sanctioned, that we simply cannot accept,” the club stated. said in a statement following their 2-0 defeat against Everton on April 21.

“We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the match but they did not change it. Our patience has been tested several times. The NFFC will now consider its options.”

The next day, Forest issued another statement making a formal request to the refereeing body, the PGMOL, to release the VAR audio of the incidents at Goodison Park.

“We strongly advocate that the wider football community and its fans have access to the audio and transcript for full transparency, ensuring the integrity of our sport is respected,” Forest said.

He The Football Association (FA) accused Forest on Friday with misconduct for his initial statement, as well as coach Nuno Espirito Santo and defender Neco Williams for comments they made after the game. The FA’s charge alleges that the club, manager and player implied bias and questioned the integrity of the match referees, amounting to inappropriate conduct.

The FA also formally warned Clattenburg “about his future conduct” as a result of a newspaper article he wrote about refereeing.

However, the panel’s findings, which have been seen by ESPN, unanimously said that a penalty claim for a foul by Ashley Young on Giovanni Reyna and a subsequent handball by Young were unfounded and should not have led to VAR intervention.

The panel voted unanimously that Young should have been penalized with a second-half penalty for bringing down Callum Hudson-Odoi inside the area.

Forest are 17th in the standings with 26 points, having lost four points for breaching the Premier League’s sustainability and profit rules.