Nottingham Forest is set to receive a six-figure sum after winning a landmark legal case against the Football Association (FA) over claims of “bias” on its disciplinary panel, with the governing body ordered to pay a significant sum to Evangelos Marinakis’s club.
The FA initially fined Forest for a tweet targeting VAR following their controversial 2-0 defeat to Everton last April. The tweet accused one of the VAR officials of being a Luton Town fan, a club Forest was competing with to avoid relegation.
The tweet 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.”
Forest was charged with bringing the game into disrepute for the tweet, which garnered 40 million views. The FA initially sought to fine Evangelos Marinakis’s club £1 million before eventually reducing it to £750,000.
The club protested the hefty sum, arguing it was unjustified and that the FA was acting unfairly. However, Graeme McPherson, chairman of the FA’s disciplinary commission, dismissed what he termed their “somewhat hysterical submission.”
The hearing on the matter concluded in Forest’s favour, with the panel ruling that McPherson’s previous comments could be seen as “unjustified, inappropriate, and perceived as a personal attack.” It added that McPherson “displays apparent bias in relation to the club” and should not have been involved in the Chelsea case appeal
The FA must now find a new chairperson for the commission and has been ordered to pay £105,750 plus VAT for court costs, a sum which also covers Forest’s legal expenses, as reported by Sportal.
