‘Bad day wasn’t it?’ – Nuno criticises referee again

Nuno Espirito Santo Criticizes Refereeing After Nottingham Forest’s Defeat to Fulham

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo expressed frustration with the refereeing decisions after his team suffered a 1-0 loss to Fulham. The match was decided by a Raul Jimenez penalty, awarded following a lengthy VAR review. Referee Josh Smith, after consulting the pitchside monitor, judged that Forest defender Murillo had fouled Fulham’s Andreas Pereira by dragging his studs on the midfielder’s calf.

Nuno had previously pledged to stop complaining about referees and to trust their decisions, but the penalty call that ended Forest’s unbeaten start to the season at the City Ground prompted him to speak out.

“We all want peace and don’t want to come here to speak about the referees, but it was bad, wasn’t it?” Nuno said during the post-match conference. “I try to give referees peace. They are trying to improve, but today was not the best day. Today, he didn’t do a good job, so I hope that he improves.”

Nuno had already been facing a potential touchline ban for a red card during Forest’s 2-2 draw against Brighton, but an extension granted by the FA allows more time for Forest to submit their observations.

Nuno, who already has a suspended one-match ban from last season, also expressed frustration that his side was not awarded penalties of their own against Fulham.

“They looked, but they don’t have the same opinion as we do. Let’s just hope for the next one that we are not talking about the referees,” Nuno added.