Mark Clattenburg breaks silence on Nottingham Forest controversy with scathing attack on PGMOL

Nottingham Forest refereeing consultant Mark Clattenburg has broken his silence after his employer's scathing attack on PGMOL following their 2-0 defeat at Everton.

Forest were dealt another blow in their battle against relegation after goals from Idrissa Gueye and Dwight McNeil either side of half-time at Goodison Park.

Nuno Espirito Santo's side didn't record a single shot on target in the second half as they fell to defeat - but all the focus after the game was on several key officiating decisions, as well as a remarkable tweet from Forest.

Forest felt they should have had three penalties, all for incidents involving Everton defender Ashley Young.

None of the penalty shouts were given on the field by referee Anthony Taylor, and VAR official Stuart Attwell decided not to overturn any of them after watching the replays.

Forest were enraged after the game, and tweeted: "Three extremely poor decisions - three penalties not given - which we simply cannot accept.

"We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn't change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times.

"NFFC will now consider its options."

Three extremely poor decisions - three penalties not given - which we simply cannot accept.

We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn’t change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times.

NFFC will now consider its options.

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) April 21, 2024

PGMOL have yet to comment on Forest's tweet, although The Athletic claim that the club are considering legal action against the refereeing body. It is believed that the post was directed by the family of owner Evangelos Marinakis.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Gary Neville stated that Clattenburg - who was appointed as the Premier League's first club-specific refereeing consultant in February - should resign from his role as a result of the insinuations made towards the integrity of officials in Forest's tweet.

Clattenburg has since addressed the incident in his Daily Mail column, and blasted Taylor, Attwell and the rest of the refereeing team for their decisions, as well as PGMOL.

In addition, he did not condemn Forest for their social media post about the officials.

He wrote: "These situations were precisely why video technology was brought into the Premier League and yet, Attwell did not send Taylor to his monitor.

"It was a hat-trick of howlers from the refereeing team and, unfortunately for Forest, a continuation of an unjust trend that has hampered their survival fight.

"You will have seen the statement released by the club - how the PGMOL were contacted to warn that it was not appropriate for a Luton fan such as Attwell to play such a pivotal role in a massive match that would impact the relegation race.

"Certainly, I would not have risked this situation if I were the head of the referees and all of this could have been avoided had the PGMOL simply made smarter appointments.

"Referees do not make mistakes deliberately but this was mind-boggling to watch. Why Attwell did not send Taylor to his screen, only he will know."