Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has hit out at EFL after claiming refereeing decisions – and in particular one in Tuesday’s crunch defeat at Bournemouth – has cost the Reds a place in the Premier League.
The Tricky Trees were last in the top flight all the way back in 1999, a 23-year hiatus. However, Steve Cooper has done a remarkable job since taking charge, leading the side from the depths on the table to on the cusp of automatic promotion.
And they could have put themselves firmly in the mix to go up had they managed a win at Bournemouth on Tuesday. Forest went into the game looking for a win that would have set up a final-day shoot-out for promotion.
However, a Kieffer Moore goal on 83 minutes earned the Cherries a 1-0 win – and secured their berth back in the Premier League.
That means Forest will have to do it the hard way through the play-offs.
And while they can still achieve their aim of securing promotion, Mariankis reckons officials have conspired against them.
The outspoken owner claims Forest were denied a first-half penalty after Sam Surridge was felled in the area by Cherries goalkeeper Mark Travers.
However, before referee Stuart Attwell could even make the decision, his linesman controversially flagged for offside.
Speaking to BBC Nottingham Sport , Mariankis was clearly far from happy.
Marinakis claims he is “not happy” with the EFL and feels they have “not backed” his side this season.
He also claims his side have ‘not been backed’ all season, with a number of other controversial decisions costing them.
Marinakis fuming at initial Bournemouth v Forest postponement
In particular Marinakis is also voicing his pleasure at the controversial postponement of February’s clash at the Vitality.
That game was pulled, and ultimately rescheduled to Tuesday, with Storm Eunice having caused damage to Bournemouth’s ground.
At the time of the initial fixture, Bournemouth had a number of players unavailable to play. And…
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