**Nottingham Forest have seen the PGMO accept that an error was made during the club’s 1-2 home defeat to Manchester City in December.**
The controversy has been a talking point in the weeks since full-time at the City Ground, particularly after Forest escalated their concerns to the Premier League’s officiating body, with frustration within the club focussed on a number of key moments.
Those concerns followed strong post-match comments from head coach Sean Dyche, while Forest also formally requested access to audio recordings between match officials to better understand how certain incidents were assessed in real time.
The fixture ultimately proved costly for Nottingham Forest in their fight for points to avoid relegation from the English top-flight, while Manchester City continued their strong run in all competitions.
The incident involving Ruben Dias had been viewed as the most significant flashpoint from the perspective of those in Red, with the City defender already on a yellow card when he committed a second-half foul that many believed warranted further punishment.
Now, as per [Sky Sports News’ Rob Dorsett](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/13491315/ruben-dias-man-city-defender-should-have-been-sent-off-against-nottingham-forest-pgmo-admit), the PGMO have admitted that Manchester City’s Ruben Dias should have received a second yellow card and been sent off in his side’s Premier League win at Nottingham Forest in December.
Clarification has come after Forest complained to the body and requested an explanation, with club representatives meeting PGMO officials on Monday to analyse the decision not to send Dias off, among other contentious calls from referee Rob Jones and match officials.
In turn, it is pointed out that Nottingham Forest have accepted Manchester City’s winner courtesy of Rayan Cherki was a legitimate goal, despite Sean Dyche claiming the strike should have been ruled out for a foul on Morgan Gibbs-White in the build-up.
Now, Forest officials have accepted there was no such offence from Nico O’Reilly, who they believed had pulled his England international team-mate to the ground, preventing him from blocking Rayan Cherki’s shot.
For Nottingham Forest, the admission offers a degree of vindication, even if it does little to change their league position, and the match result. The club will now hope the dialogue with PGMO leads to improved consistency and communication moving forward.
More broadly, the episode is expected to fuel further discussion around refereeing standards, VAR intervention, and post-match transparency, with clubs across the Premier League continuing to push for clearer explanations when contentious decisions shape crucial results.