Gary Neville tells Mark Clattenburg to RESIGN from Nottingham Forest role after club’s ’embarrassing’ VAR statement
GARY NEVILLE has told Mark Clattenburg he must RESIGN from his Nottingham Forest role after the club’s “embarrassing” statement slamming VAR.
Forest were left seething as they lost 2-0 at Everton, with the club adamant they were robbed of three penalties.
VAR chief Stuart Attwell backed ref Anthony Taylor’s on-field decisions for all three incidents.
And the result left Forest just one point above the drop zone, with Everton opening a five-point gap with a game in hand.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side then released a sharp-worded statement on social media, inferring the decisions went against them due to Attwell being a Luton fan.
The Hatters are also battling relegation and are in the drop zone, one point behind Forest.
The statement read: “Three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept.
“We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn’t change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times. NFFC will now consider its options.”
However, Man Utd icon and Sky Sports pundit Neville lashed out at Forest’s “petulant” statement.
He reckons the club have made a huge error with their wording.
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And Neville has now called on ex-ref Clattenburg to leave Forest immediately.
The former Premier League official works for the club as a consultant, with Forest previously lashing out at decisions from referees in other matches.
Neville said: “Mark Clattenberg must resign tonight.
“If he saw those words go out in which question the integrity of a referee and claims someone is a cheat for supporting another club, then he’s supporting what is being said.
“He would lose all credibility with referees in the game. He should stand down tonight and distance himself from that statement.
“The statement is like a petulant child. It’s embarrassing.
“Today has been a horrendous day for Nottingham Forest. Possibly horrendous because of the decisions that they’ve had, but horrendous for how they’ve reacted to the situation.
“To mention the VAR official as being a Luton fan and inferring in some way that’s had an impact on the decision-making process and suggesting to me as a fan, thinking ‘has he cheated us’, you’re into really dangerous territory.
“I’m disappointed for Nottingham Forest’s players and fans, but I’m also disappointed in Nottingham Forest for the way in which they’ve acted.
“It’s a horrendous tweet they’ve put out there and they’ll regret that as a football club.”