Nottingham Forest fans are in uproar after referee Anthony Taylor bizarrely awarded a foul against them on Sunday – for a Southampton player simply falling over.
Mistakes are part and parcel of being human but Forest were confused when Taylor blew his whistle and told off Morgan Gibbs-White after Mateus Fernandes fell over.
Gibbs-White was not even close to touching the Portuguese midfielder but the referee appeared in little doubt that a foul had occurred.
In the end it didn’t matter much to Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side, who won 3-2 at the City Ground and drew level on points with second-placed Arsenal.
But it has been a talking point among fans.
‘Anthony Taylor gave this as a foul against Morgan Gibbs-White. I could see from the back row of the Upper Trent he tripped over his own feet! Taylor is a disgrace,’ said one fan on X.
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
Referee Anthony Taylor has been criticised for awarding a foul against Morgan Gibbs-White (right) when Mateus Fernandes (left) simply fell over
At the moment that Southampton star Fernandes began to fall, Gibbs-White was not close to touching him
Forest fans vented on social media about Taylor, with whom they have a history
‘Anthony Taylor somehow gets worse with every single game he officiates. Fernandes literally diving in front of him,’ another wrote.
‘The fact this was given as a foul against MGW shows how poor the officiating was today,’ one commented.
‘How can I see this from the top of the BC stand, and Taylor, a few feet away, cannot?!’ said one.
Another wrote: ‘Absolutely disgusting! No better than Sunday league officiating.’
Referees have to make hundreds of judgement calls in a match and inevitably they will get things wrong, especially with the pace and pressure of Premier League football.
Last year, the Premier League claimed that 96 per cent of decisions were correct after the introduction of VAR, as opposed to 82 per cent before.
However, a big VAR call in the game between Forest and Southampton fuelled further controversy.
Nikola Milenkovic thought he had put the game beyond doubt when he powered home a header after 64 minutes, with Aaron Ramsdale making a hash of his attempted save.
But the VAR summoned Taylor to review the footage of the goal on the pitchside monitor and he overturned the goal after deciding that Chris Wood, who had been offside, had interfered with play.
As he reviewed the clip, some Forest fans waved their wallets and bank cards at Taylor in a joking bid to bribe him.
It was a divisive call as Wood did not touch the ball and fuelled much discussion afterwards.
The Premier League Match Centre later tweeted to clear up why the goal had been ruled out.
‘The referee’s call of goal was checked by VAR, who deemed that Wood interfered with play after coming from an offside position,’ the centre wrote.
‘After an on-field review, the referee overturned the original decision and the goal was disallowed.’
Last season, Forest were so incensed at three penalty decisions in a 2-0 defeat against Everton, which Taylor had refereed, that they released an explosive statement implying VAR official Stuart Atwell had been biased due to being a fan of relegation rivals Luton.
First-half goals from Elliot Anderson, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Wood meant that Forest recorded a seventh win in their last eight Premier League games.
Forest were also annoyed that Nikola Milenkovic had a goal ruled out for offside interference
Nottingham Forest released an explosive statement against VAR last season after three penalty calls went against them in a 2-0 loss to Everton, with Taylor the referee that day
Southampton almost completed a remarkable comeback in the second half after goals from Jan Bednarek and Paul Onuachu.
But Saints could not find an equalised and Ola Aina produced a goal-line clearance to deny Bednarek in the dying minutes.
