Nottingham Forest fallout continues

Alan Nixon has shared what Howard Webb apparently said regarding Stuart Attwell as the Everton vs Nottingham Forest controversy rumbles on.

Forest hit out at the appointment of Attwell as VAR for Sunday’s (21 April) controversial 2-0 win for the Toffees at Goodison Park.

The Reds were not happy that Luton Town fan Attwell was part of the match officials, to which Webb was allegedly unaware.

Writing on his X account [23 April], journalist Nixon said: “Webb apparently said he didn’t know Attwell was a Luton fan… when clearly he has to know.”

Nottingham Forest still raging after Everton loss

As Nixon also pointed out on social media, Attwell has been a referee since 2007 and has never once refereed a Luton Town game.

Clearly he has been blocked from officiating the Hatters, then, which makes total sense given his persuasion.

However, to call out PGMOL for putting Attwell on VAR duties for this match is bizarre. After all, where exactly do you draw the line?

There are only so many officials and every weekend will bring about various permutations. On this basis, Attwell could not be involved in games involving Luton, Everton, Forest or any other teams low down the table.

Ultimately, a draw surely would have been the better result for Luton at the weekend? As it is, Forest had three strong penalty appeals rejected and Everton took all three points.

Despite the Merseyside derby being just a day away, do not expect this story to go away any time soon.