Anthony Taylor will be the man in charge of Nottingham Forest’s final-day showdown with Chelsea this weekend.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Reds take on the Blues at the City Ground on Sunday (4pm kick-off) with Champions League qualification on the line. Both sides are still in the mix to finish in the top five of the Premier League and secure a spot in Europe’s elite club competition.
The Premier League have now confirmed the officials who will oversee the fixture on the banks of the Trent. Taylor will be the referee, with Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn his assistants. Fourth official on the day will be Jarred Gillett. Peter Bankes will be the VAR and Constantine Hatzidakis assistant VAR.
The selection of Taylor as the man in the middle for the clash has not gone down particularly well with Forest fans. The 46-year-old was referee for the Reds’ controversial 2-0 defeat at Everton last season.
On that particular occasion, Forest were left furious after Taylor had waved away three penalty appeals at Goodison Park. They were in a relegation battle at the time and the club went on to post an angry tweet after the full-time whistle.
Taylor had received no instruction from VAR Stuart Attwell to go to his monitor to review the penalty incidents. Forest accused Attwell of being a fan of relegation rivals Luton Town.
Their tweet said: “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.”
Taylor was also fourth official when the Reds drew 2-2 at Brighton and Hove Albion last September. He told referee Rob Jones to send Forest head coach Nuno off, citing improper behaviour. Nuno was subsequently hit with a three-match touchline ban.
The Portuguese was shown a red card at the Amex Stadium for his reaction to Morgan Gibbs-White being dismissed. The attacker had received a second booking for a challenge on Joao Pedro in the 83rd minute of the match, despite Jones initially indicating he had got the ball.
Both Nuno and Gibbs-White were subsequently charged with acting in “an improper manner” and/or using “abusive and/or insulting words” towards the officials by the Football Association. The commission’s written reasons for the suspension decisions included reports from Jones and Taylor outlining what happened on the south coast.
Describing Nuno’s response to Gibbs-White being handed his marching orders, Taylor stated: “In reaction to the behaviour of the Brighton technical area and the referee’s decision to dismiss Nottingham Forest player, Mr Gibbs-White for a second caution, Mr Espirito Santo, became very animated and aggressive. He left his technical area to show clear dissent in reaction to the decision and was heard saying to Mr Jones, “You’re ******* us again”. I then informed Mr Jones that Mr Espirito Santo should be dismissed.”
Reds fans have taken to social media to have their say on Taylor being placed in charge of Sunday’s game. One said: “Absolutely fuming he’s in charge for our game on Sunday! We are going to get nothing all game!”
Another supporter said: “Taylor has howlers everytime he refs our games.” Referencing the club’s tweet from last season, one fan quipped: “#NFFC will now consider its options!!”
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