'FRUSTRATED' NOTTINGHAM FOREST STRIKER CHRIS WOOD RESPONDS TO CLUB'S CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENT FOLLOWING EVERTON VAR DEBACLE

  • Everton beat Nottingham Forest 2-0
  • Reds complain about officiating
  • Wood weighs in on controversy

WHAT HAPPENED?

Following Forest's 2-0 loss to relegation rivals Everton on Sunday, the club posted on X, formerly Twitter, that they should have been given three penalties by referee Anthony Taylor and VAR official Stuart Attwell – who is allegedly a Luton Town supporter. Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said the post was "like a mafia gang statement", with the Tricky Trees reportedly considering whether or not to take legal action over those remarks. Now, striker Wood has weighed in on the matter.

WHAT CHRIS WOOD SAID

He told the Telegraph: "We were all angry after the game, upset and frustrated. I think a lot of clubs have had a lot [of bad decisions] but I do think we’ve had more than our fair share this season – more than we did last season. Everybody will complain about VAR in some ways but ultimately we have had a lot [go against us]. We can’t make the decisions, we can only control what happens on the pitch and how we play. It’s unfortunate but we parked it the following day. We’ve got four games left in quick succession and we can’t be down about it. We need to get focused and go again.”

When asked about the club's reaction to the decisions that went against them, he added: “I can understand the frustration, definitely. What they put out is down to them, and that’s their words. There was frustration from a lot of people, but it’s up to the club.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Forest took extra umbrage with the officiating as they are just one point above the bottom three, leaving them in a relegation dogfight with Luton Town and Burnley. Moreover, they were docked four points for breaching financial rules, something they are appealing, so it may feel like the walls are closing in on the Reds.

WHAT NEXT?

Things don't get much easier for Forest as they host defending Premier League champions and second-placed Manchester City - who thrashed Brighton 4-0 on Thursday night - at the City Ground on Sunday afternoon.

2024-04-26T09:59:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd