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Nottingham Forest have failed in their appeal against a £750,000 ($968,000) fine imposed for a social media post last season that criticised Premier League match official Stuart Attwell.
Forest published the post last April after a 2-0 defeat to Everton in the Premier League, a match in which the club felt they had been denied three clear penalties.
The club stated that they had “warned” referees’ body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) that Attwell, who was the video assistant referee for the match, was a fan of their relegation rivals Luton, adding: “Our patience has been tested multiple times.”
A regulatory commission issued a £750,000 fine in October, with Forest immediately indicating their intention to appeal, arguing that the punishment was disproportionate.
The Football Association described the post as an “egregious, direct and public attack” on Attwell and an attack on referees in general “on an unparalleled scale.”
The FA confirmed on Monday that an appeal board had upheld the original sanction and ordered the post to be taken down.
The link to the post on X was not working on Monday, though the club did not immediately confirm whether it had been removed.
The appeal board stated in its written reasons: “The (original) commission was entitled and right to give very considerable weight to the need for deterrence and the fact that NFFC had no mitigation. The lack of mitigation was particularly striking.”
Forest escaped relegation last season, while Luton were relegated to the Championship.
This season, Forest are third in the Premier League table and challenging for a Champions League place.
AFP
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