Micah Richards delivers verdict on Nottingham Forest penalty appeal involving Anthony Elanga

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Nottingham Forest were once again on the wrong end of some horrible VAR calls yesterday as Fulham ran out 1-0 winners at the City Ground.

It ended an unbeaten start to the season for Forest and probably taught Nuno Espirito Santo a lot about his squad.

The decision to go with four central midfielders – much like he did at Liverpool – backfired alarmingly as the Reds created very little.

Murillo gave away the penalty kick after he was adjudged to have fouled Andrea Pereira – with replays showing that it looks extremely soft.

Shortly after, the Reds felt they should have had a penalty of their own when Anthony Elanga was fouled but in unsurprising circumstances, the inconsistencies of VAR reared their ugly head.

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Micah Richards shares whether Nottingham Forest should have had a penalty

The Reds felt agreed when Calvin Bassey seemed to attempt a clearance and clatter through the back of Elanga.

Despite an equally soft decision being sent for a review, VAR, John Brooks, chose not to send the on-field referee to the screen for this one.

Richards was quizzed on the incident during last night’s Match of the Day and he shared whether he thought Forest should have had a penalty.

The former Premier League player said: “This is Bassey on Elanga. You know, when you slow down, it looks a bit like a penalty, but at full speed, I don’t think it’s a penalty. You see these angles here and the way. He does catch him a little bit, I don’t think it’s enough. If it goes to VAR, they are not going to overturn that, they are not going to. It’s the ref’s call, and I think he got it right on the day.”

Premier League officials have duty to be consistent

If the challenge made by Murillo is deemed a foul then quite simply the referee has to be sent to the screen for the one on Elanga too.

The bad decisions are one thing but the mandatory requirement of the match officials is to remain consistent at the very least.

Both referee Josh Smith and VAR Brooks were very inconsistent throughout with their decision-making and it’s just not good enough.

Nuno Espirito Santo was very diplomatic with his comments after the game but once again he will feel aggrieved this weekend.

Forest have to dust themselves off quickly and prepare to go again next week when a trip to Chelsea is on the horizon.