Forest lose fine appeal over VAR social media posts

Bengaluru — An independent appeal board has dismissed Nottingham Forest’s appeal against a £750,000 fine imposed on the Premier League club over social media posts criticising a video assistant referee (VAR) last season, the Football Association (FA) said on Monday.

Forest were angered at being denied three penalty claims in a 2-0 loss at Everton last April, and minutes after the game they posted on X saying VAR Stuart Attwell was a fan of Luton Town, who were rivals in the battle to avoid relegation.

Though Forest denied the posts implied any bias or questioned the integrity of the match officials, they were fined and issued a warning for misconduct by an independent commission in October.

Forest appealed the decision, calling the fine “disproportionate”.

“The appeal board dismissed a subsequent appeal by Nottingham Forest FC in relation to both liability and sanction, and it has also ordered the club to remove the social media post,” the FA said in a statement on Monday.

Forest, who were docked four points for breaching the league’s financial rules, avoided relegation after finishing 17th. Luton, who finished 18th, were relegated.

This season, Forest have fared better as they sit third in the standings before visiting Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Reuters