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
Sri Lanka seal gritty T20 win over Pakistan to level series
- In a contest trimmed to 12 overs a side, Sri Lanka scored 160 runs before choking Pakistan to 146-8
- The series saw the visitors clinch the opener by six wickets before rain washed out the second game
Dambulla: Sri Lanka eked out a hard fought 14-run victory over Pakistan in the third T20 at rain-hit Dambulla on Sunday, easing their batting jitters and squaring the three-match series 1-1.
The series, a warm-up for the T20 World Cup with Pakistan set to play all their matches in Sri Lanka due to political tensions with nuclear-armed neighbors India, saw the visitors clinch the opener by six wickets before rain washed out the second game.
“We were a bit worried about our batting and I’m glad we addressed that today,” said Wanindu Hasaranga, who walked away with both Player of the Match and Player of the Series honors.
“The bowlers did a good job too. The ball was wet and it wasn’t easy. We tried to bowl wide and slow and asked them to take risks.”
Hasaranga took four wickets in the game and in the process completed 150 wickets in T20Is.
In a contest trimmed to 12 overs a side, Sri Lanka muscled their way to a competitive 160 before choking Pakistan to 146-8.
Having been bowled out inside 20 overs in the series opener, Sri Lanka needed a statement with the bat and duly ticked every box after being put in.
The top order laid the platform and the middle order applied the finishing touches.
Wicket-keeper Kusal Mendis made hay under the Power Play, blasting 30 off 16 balls while Dhananjaya de Silva (22 off 15) and Charith Asalanka (21 off 13) kept the scoreboard ticking.
Skipper Dasun Shanaka then swung the momentum decisively, clubbing 34 off just nine deliveries, peppered with five towering sixes.
The sixth-wicket stand between Shanaka and Janith Liyanage produced 52 runs in just 15 balls and proved the turning point, shifting the game firmly Sri Lanka’s way.
Pakistan came out swinging in reply, racing to 50 in just 19 balls with captain Salman Agha hammering 45 off 12 balls, including five fours and three sixes.
But once the field spread, Sri Lanka tightened the screws, applied the choke and forced the asking rate to spiral.
“It was a good game of cricket,” Agha said.
“We conceded too many runs, but our batting effort was good. Unfortunately, we fell short. We know we are going to play all our World Cup games in Sri Lanka and it’s important that we played in similar conditions,” he added.
