Nottingham Forest’s qualification for European competition on Sunday quickly faded into the background due to a scene that followed. Was it all a misunderstanding?
It was a difficult situation on Sunday afternoon in Nottingham. The 2-2 draw against relegated Leicester City meant that Forest were certain to compete in the European Cup next season. At the same time, the loss of two points that had been firmly planned meant a significant setback in the battle for a Champions League spot. But soon, neither of those things mattered anymore because Evangelos Marinakis had another special idea.
The hot-blooded club owner, who is also responsible for Olympiacos Piraeus, came onto the pitch and, visibly upset, berated Forest coach Nuno Espirito Santo, which the TV cameras naturally captured with relish. TV expert Gary Neville called it a “scandal” and even recommended that Espirito Santo leave the club in response, “because he doesn’t deserve this.”
However, the Portuguese coach, who has been the architect of Forest’s remarkable rise from newly promoted team to Champions League contender since December 2023, preferred to play down the incident. “Of course we are disappointed and frustrated. But it is thanks to the owner and his passion that we are growing as a club. He drives us on. 30,000 people felt the same way today. I’m sure many of them would have liked to run onto the pitch to give us a piece of their mind.”
Marinakis speaks of a ‘misjudgment by the medical staff’
Apparently, it wasn’t primarily about the missed victory, which saw Nottingham slip from sixth to seventh place with two games to go, but about a specific situation in the final stages: Former Union striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who had come on shortly after Leicester’s equalizer (83′), crashed into the post five minutes later while trying to reach a ball, but signaled after receiving treatment that he could continue playing.
Espirito Santo therefore took Elliot Anderson off the field with his fifth substitution – even though it soon became apparent that Awoniyi could barely walk. “There was a misunderstanding between the coaching staff and the medical department,” the coach admitted later, while Marinakis said in a statement: ”We all—the coaching staff, the players, the fans, and myself—were frustrated by Taiwo’s injury and the medical staff’s misjudgment of whether Taiwo could continue playing.” This frustration – and therefore his own behaviour – was “natural” and merely a “demonstration of the passion we feel for our club”.
At least Marinakis is not facing punishment this time. He had already been banned from the stadium for five games this season after spitting on the ground in the players’ tunnel when the referee walked past him following a 0-1 home defeat to Fulham in September.
