Media outrage has continued surrounding Nottingham Forest and Evangelos Marinakis since Sunday’s remarkable outburst, with Gary Neville particularly scathing of the Forest owner.
Forest fans were initially annoyed with Marinakis for storming onto the pitch and berating Nuno Espirito Santo after the Leicester draw, before an explanation was given by the Forest manager.
Espirito Santo explained that Marinakis was frustrated by the Taiwo Awoniyi situation, in which the Nigerian continued through what looked to be a serious injury.
Updates since have confirmed that Awoniyi had to have emergency surgery to deal with an abdominal concern, with the club now releasing a statement of their own in response to both Awoniyi’s health and the media reaction to the events of Sunday.
Nottingham Forest release statement on Taiwo Awoniyi situation
It has since been revealed that Marinakis’ outburst continued in the tunnel, which again didn’t paint the Forest owner in a good light. So much so that the club have now released a comprehensive statement on the situation in an attempt to draw a line under the controversy.
On Marinakis’ actions, the statement said: “In the final ten minutes of the game, when he saw our player clearly in discomfort, struggling through visible pain, it became increasingly difficult for him to stay on the sidelines. His deep frustration at seeing our player lying on the ground in severe pain -something no one with genuine care could ignore – triggered him to go onto the pitch.
“The truth of the matter is there was no confrontation, with Nuno or with others, either on the pitch or inside the stadium. There was only shared frustration between all of us that the medical team should never have allowed the player to continue.”
Particularly on the media reaction, it added: “In light of this, we urge former coaches and players, and other public figures in the game, to resist the urge to rush to judgement and fake news online, especially when they do not have the full facts and context.
“Baseless and ill-informed outrage for the purposes of personal social media traction serves no one, least of all the injured player. We call on these influential voices to show the same respect for player welfare that they often demand from others. Let concern come before commentary.”
Particularly due to the reference to commentary, Forest fans have taken this as a direct response to Gary Neville’s reaction to Marinakis. Clearly in agreement with the statement, Reds supporters have taken to social media themselves to voice their anger at Neville’s role in the situation.
Nottingham Forest fans react to Gary Neville reference in club statement
Simon Jordan disagreed with Neville’s Marinakis reaction and Forest fans have clearly sided with the talkSPORT pundit, as they launch their own reaction to Neville’s words.
One fan tagged Neville and said: “Time to apologise,” while another added: “Should be directed straight to Sky Sports.”
Another fan said: “The shade directed at Gary Neville here is simply wonderful,” with another saying: “Can’t wait for Gary Neville to completely ignore this and continue his hate campaign against Forest and their owner.”
Another Forest fan added: Well said. Looking forward to seeing what Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher say to this. Highly unlikely.”
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