Alan Shearer and Micah Richards have criticised Evangelos Marinakis following his confrontation with Nuno Espirito Santo after Nottingham Forest’s 2-2 draw with Leicester City.
The City Ground outfit’s poor run of form continued as they dropped crucial points in the race for Champions League football.
Forest’s slip-up seemed to get the better of owner Evangelos Marinakis, who stormed the pitch at full-time to confront manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
Gary Neville slammed Marinakis’ actions post-match, and it seems like he isn’t the only pundit to condemn the Forest owner’s reaction.
Alan Shearer criticises Evangelos Marinakis intervention
Marinakis recently suspended his involvement with Forest to avoid UEFA sanctions, but his passion for the club was still clear to see at the City Ground.
The situation regarding Taiwo Awoniyi’s substitution on 83 minutes seemed to anger the Forest owner, so much so that he would challenge Espirito Santo at full-time.
Speaking on the altercation, Alan Shearer claimed Marinakis’ actions weren’t a good look for Forest.
“I don’t know what he was saying to him because of the videos and the pictures, whether it was him going mad at him or him trying to have a discussion,” the former striker told the Rest Is Football podcast.
“It’s not a good look when the owner comes onto the pitch like that. Like, c’mon, really? After the season you’ve had, after what your manager has done and what your players have done, to react like that.
“If they don’t get Champions League, I know how much that will hurt, but if you look at the bigger picture, Forest have been incredible this season. It’s not a good look doing that.”
Micah Richards praises Nuno Espirito Santo reaction
Fellow pundit and podcaster Micah Richards echoed Shearer’s claims, criticising the Forest owner’s public outburst.
“It was strange, we were looking for shots at the time. It’s never a good look for an owner to come down, especially on the pitch. Some Forest fans were applauding it as he was showing passion.”
Espirito Santo played down the confrontation post-match, and Richards has praised the Forest’s manager’s handling of the situation.
“In terms of the way Nuno handled it, I thought he handled it brilliantly well – he played everything down.
“I get the fans’ point of view in terms of the passion, but to come on the pitch and belittle and undermine the manager like that it never sits right with me. It just didn’t look good at all.”
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