Nottingham Forest have been fined 750,000 pounds ($979,500) and warned for misconduct in relation to a social media post criticising the referee after their Premier League defeat by Everton last season, the Football Association said on Friday.Forest were angered at being denied three penalty claims in the 2-0 loss and minutes after the game they issued a statement on social media platform X accusing Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Stuart Attwell of being a Luton Town fan.
At the time, Forest were involved in a relegation battle with Luton but they eventually finished 17th while Luton went down.
"The club denied that the comments posted on social media imply bias and/or question the integrity of the match officials and/or the video assistant referee and/or bring the game into disrepute," the FA said in a statement."An independent Regulatory Commission found the charge to be proven following a hearing and imposed the club's sanctions."
At the time, Forest said on X, opens new tab: "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, who said they would appeal the decision, had asked for the fine to be suspended but the FA rejected the request.
"We are particularly concerned that the FA, in its submissions, sought a sanction 'in excess of 1,000,000 pounds'," Forest said in a statement. "We believe that this request, along with the subsequent fine, is wholly disproportionate and the club will be appealing the decision."
