LONDON: Nottingham Forest were fined 750,000 pounds ($980,000) on Friday after the Premier League club were found to have questioned the integrity of match officials in an extremely inflammatory post on social media that has had more than 46 million views.
The post in question was published soon after Forest’s 2-0 loss to Everton in the Premier League in April, criticizing the failure of officials to award Forest a penalty. It claimed that the VAR for the match, Stuart Attwell, was a fan of a rival club that were fighting relegation, like Forest was at the time.
Forest denied their comments implied “bias and/or question the integrity of the match officials and/or the video assistant referee and/or bring the game into disrepute,” the Football Association said.
However, the governing body said an independent regulatory commission found the charge to be proven following a hearing and issued the fine, while also warning Forest for misconduct.
The social media post by Forest went beyond criticizing match officials for perceived incompetence for the failure to award penalties for what Forest said were three clear fouls during the game.
It pointed to potential foul play by questioning the integrity of Attwell, who, Forest said, is a fan of Luton.
“Three extremely poor decisions — three penalties not given — which we simply cannot accept,” it read. “We warned the PGMOL (English soccer’s referees body) that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn’t change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times.”
A day later, Forest said they had submitted a formal request for the referees’ body to release the audio recordings between Attwell and on-field referee Anthony Taylor for the incidents in question in order to gain “full transparency” and ensure “the integrity of our sport is upheld.”
Forest fined almost $1m for questioning integrity of match officials in inflammatory post
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Forest fined almost $1m for questioning integrity of match officials in inflammatory post
- The post in question was published soon after Forest’s 2-0 loss to Everton in the Premier League in April
- The governing body said an independent regulatory commission found the charge to be proven following a hearing and issued the fine
Ravaglia’s heroics propel Bologna to victory over Inter in Italian Super Cup semi-final in Riyadh
- The Bologna keeper makes a string of saves, including 2 during the penalty shootout after the game ends in a 1-1 draw
RIYADH: It was a night of shared football culture in Riyadh on Friday as Inter Milan and Bologna met in the second semi-final of the 2025-26 Italian Super Cup.
The traveling Inter support brought with them their color, drums and constant noise, which blended with the enthusiasm of the Saudi Inter fans to create a lively atmosphere inside the stadium.
The match began at a blistering pace, with Inter taking the lead within two minutes when Marcus Thuram powered home from close range after meeting a quality cross from Alessandro Bastoni.
The side immediately pressed forward in search of a second, with Ange-Yoan Bonny going close in the fourth minute after feinting past Torbjorn Heggem, but he dragged his effort just wide of the post.
After this early barrage, Bologna began to grow into the contest. Jens Odgaard led much of the offense, and goalkeeper Josep Martinez was called into action to preserve Inter’s lead.
The energy among the Inter fans continued to build as they jumped in unison and waved their scarves, urging their team forward in search of the elusive second goal. Their momentum was checked in the 34th minute, however, when a review by the video assistant referee resulted in a penalty for Bologna. Riccardo Orsolini stepped up to coolly slot the spot-kick past Martinez and level the scores.
Inter continued to push forward after the break as the game opened up, but there was no getting past Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia, who made four saves in the second half alone.
Hopes among the Nerazzurri of restoring their lead were raised when Bonny went down in the box in the 56th minute, only for the appeals for a penalty to be waved aside following a VAR review.
Less than 10 minutes later, the Inter fans rose to welcome Lautaro Martinez. Brought on in a triple substitution alongside Andy Diouf and Davide Frattesi, he made an immediate impact on the play but still his team was unable to find a decisive goal before regular time ran out.
In fact it was Bologna that came close to snatching a winner in injury time, but goalkeeper Martinez reacted sharply to make a crucial save. The final whistle blew soon after and, with no extra time in the Italian Super Cup, the match went to penalties.
The shootout began evenly, with both sides converting their first penalties before the goalkeepers intervened in the next two. Nicolo Barella then fired over the crossbar, only for Juan Miranda to similarly miss the target.
Inter’s struggles from the spot continued as Ravaglia pulled off his second save of the shootout, and then Jonathan Rowe kept his nerve to give Bologna the advantage. Stefan de Vrij converted his spot kick to extend the contest but Ciro Immobile struck decisively to give Bologna the victory.
They now face Napoli in the final at Al-Awwal Park on Dec. 22, after the Serie A champions defeated AC Milan 2-0 on Thursday in the first semi-final.
