Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis isn’t backwards in coming forward when something gets under his skin.
Forest couldn’t have a better owner to fight their corner on a number of matters and he’s been a man of his word since the club won promotion.
The Reds celebrated on Market Square in Nottingham the day after promotion and Marinakis claimed that he wanted to see Forest in the hunt for major honours.
Some snarled at his ambition, but from a Forest fan perspective, it should be admired, with the team now in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley just three years after that statement.
Last season, Marinakis came in for some criticism for his comments on match officials – in particular Stuart Attwell – following a 2-0 defeat to Everton.
With the VAR that day being a Luton Town supporter, it was claimed that Forest had made the PGMOL aware that they weren’t happy about the appointment before the fixture.
Forest were denied three penalties in that particular game and now, as Forest prepare to meet Everton again, this time at the City Ground, Marinakis might be left feeling very frustrated all over again.
Match officials appointed for Nottingham Forest vs Everton
Forest will be hoping not to bother too much about what the match officials are doing in their remaining seven games of the season but there is definitely going to be some eyebrows raised this week.
Not against the referee, it has to be said. Craig Pawson is the man overseeing the game against Everton and although he reffed a 5-0 defeat to Bournemouth, he was also in charge when the Reds beat Tottenham over Christmas and Leicester earlier this season.
The situation that might provide a sense of deja vu for Marinakis is the appointment of John Brooks as the VAR on the fixture.
The Leicester-based match official is enjoying a fine season and was recently given the Carabao Cup final but having a Leicester fan on VAR in such a big game for Forest is unlikely to be endorsed by Marinakis himself.
Given that Forest were very hard done by against Everton at Goodison Park last season, the Reds will be hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself this weekend at the City Ground.
Forest have turned a VAR corner this season
Although there have still been some errors from match officials that haven’t helped Forest this season, there have also been fewer costly incidents during 2024/25.
The Reds are currently third in the Premier League and thankfully, there haven’t been too many costly moments that Forest can bemoan referees for.
In the FA Cup, Forest had a penalty overturned against Brighton despite replays clearly showing Kaoru Mitoma fouling Elliot Anderson with his arm.
Back in September, Calvin Bassey fouled Anthony Elanga in the box when Forest lost to Fulham but the VAR that day – who was also Brooks – chose not to recommend an on-field review.
Hopefully, Saturday can come and go without any big incidents and Forest can claim another big three points in the quest for Champions League football.
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