Nottingham Forest were beaten 3-0 by Everton on Saturday afternoon - but have since made a complaint to the Professional Game Match Officials Limited
James Tarkowski during Everton's win over Nottingham Forest at Hill Dickinson Stadium
James Tarkowski during Everton's win over Nottingham Forest at Hill Dickinson Stadium
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Nottingham Forest have made a complaint to the PGMOL after no action was taken against James Tarkowski following an off-the-ball clash with Dan Ndoye. The incident occurred in the 11th minute of Forest’s 3-0 defeat to the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The ECHO understands that Forest believe Tarkowski's shoulder barge on Ndoye amounted to violent conduct, and the Everton defender should have been sent off. The incident wasn't seen by on-field referee Chris Kavanagh, and the VAR, James Bell, didn't think it was worthy of a red card and so didn't intervene.
But a furious Sean Dyche said post-match: “I said to big Tarky, just to be clear, and I respect him and like him as a bloke, I said to him, 'How he got away with that in the first half?' I don’t know what’s going on there.
“The referee is honest, I went to see him, and he said he didn’t see it and none of the officials saw it, but I said: ‘VAR saw it and they did nothing about it.’
“I’m very, very surprised at that and I’ve told him (Tarkowski) that I’m going to tell you this, by the way. Equally, and really crying it in, for the second goal, it hits the referee on the way through, diverts it right into his path.
“They’re on a breakaway, three v one or two, but those things, on a day that you’re not playing well, you don’t need those to go against you, that’s for sure.
“As I suggest, I’m going to credit Everton because they looked more up for it – and I’m not talking about the quality of either side’s football, I’m talking about the edge and desire to really take the game on and we were lacking on that today – so it’s a real reminder to our group that has to be in place as a basic and then your good play can take care of itself.”
Sean Dyche gives his team instructions during the match between Everton and Nottingham Forest at Hill Dickinson Stadium on 6 December 2025
Sean Dyche gives his team instructions during the match between Everton and Nottingham Forest at Hill Dickinson Stadium on 6 December 2025
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Reflecting on the win, Blues boss David Moyes said: "We’ve won four out of five, with one disappointment in there but, overall, we’ve got the win, we’ve got the goals and I think, more importantly, we’ve got the clean sheets.
"If we're going to be any way successful, whether that be whatever part of the league it is, we're going to have to get clean sheets and we've suddenly started to get a few now, which is really pleasing."
While Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall said: "We are, apart from the blip against Newcastle, clicking and playing some great stuff. We were the dominant team, they didn't cause us many problems.
"Of course Europe is a realistic ambition. The size of the club, the ownership, the stadium, it all shouts European football. A lot can happen, but we are making positive steps."
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