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Nottingham Forest has been hit with a £750,000 fine by the Football Association (FA) for what the FA called an “unparalleled” attack on the integrity of a match official. This comes after a social media post last season accusing VAR official Stuart Attwell of bias due to his alleged support for Luton Town, following a 2-0 defeat to Everton on 21 April.
The club had expressed frustration over three penalty decisions that went against them during the match, posting on X (formerly Twitter) that VAR Attwell was a Luton fan and suggesting his allegiance influenced the decisions. However, an independent commission rejected Forest’s claims, stating the post amounted to a public attack on the official’s integrity, with no genuine remorse shown by the club.
Though Forest denied questioning the integrity of the officials or bringing the game into disrepute, the commission found the post “ill-chosen and irresponsible.” Attwell, who did not officiate Luton’s matches, described the post’s impact on him as causing “stress, distress, fear, and embarrassment.”
Forest were also warned about their future conduct and announced their intention to appeal the fine, calling it “disproportionate.” The FA had initially sought a fine exceeding £1 million, citing the post’s potential to “normalise questioning the integrity of referees.”
The incident added to Nottingham Forest’s growing tensions with match officials, with manager Nuno Espírito Santo and owner Evangelos Marinakis both previously sanctioned for criticizing referees.
