Nottingham Forest, under the ownership of Evangelos Marinakis, has secured its place in European football next season. This achievement comes after a dramatic on-pitch incident involving Marinakis and manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
Despite a disappointing 2-2 draw with rivals Leicester at the City Ground on Sunday, Nottingham Forest's place in Europe is now guaranteed. This marks a significant milestone for the club as they last experienced European football 30 years ago.
The team had been among the top three for much of this season but slipped down to seventh following recent results. However, their early-season performance ensured their qualification for next year's European competition.
On-pitch meltdown
The match against Leicester saw Chris Wood score his 20th goal of the season, putting them on course to beat their East Midlands rivals. However, Facundo Buonanotte had the final say as Forest could only manage a draw. This result led to an unsavoury scene at full-time when owner Marinakis took umbrage with his manager Nuno Espirito Santo over an injury decision regarding player Taiwo Awoniyi.
Marinakis was seen animatedly throwing his hands up in frustration during a heated conversation with Nuno Espirito Santo about not substituting injured Taiwo Awoniyi towards the end of the game. Hours after this incident, Marinakis released an Instagram statement celebrating Nottingham Forest securing its first European football slot in three decades.
Evangelos Marinakis, Nottingham Forest owner, said:
"Today is a day for celebration because after 30 years Nottingham Forest is guaranteed to be competing on the European stage once again, a promise I made to our supporters when we achieved promotion!
"With two more games to go in the Premier League, we must keep believing and keep dreaming, right to the final kick of the game. We are extremely proud of and close to Nuno and the team, and we must celebrate the historic achievements of this season.
"Everybody - coaching staff, players, supporters and including myself - we were frustrated around the injury of Taiwo and the medical staff's misjudgement on Taiwo's ability to continue the game. This is natural, this is a demonstration of the passion we feel for our club."
Reactions to the incident
The incident drew criticism from several quarters, with Gary Neville calling it "scandalous". He suggested that Nuno should negotiate his exit following Marinakis' outburst. However Nuno Espirito Santo showed no outerage towards owners’ behaviour in post-match interview.
Nuno Espirito Santo, Nottingham Forest manager, said:
“It all comes from the situation that unfortunately in the last ten minutes we had one man less with a situation of him not being able to to give us a hand to the team to help the team because he was in too much pain.
“That came from a bad communication between departments, coaching staff and medical department that they had the info of one thing. It proceeds and we make the sub. Unfortunately then he had another stoppage time and after that I think 30,000 people that were in the stadium were really really upset, rightly so.”
“We are too disappointed today. I have a dressing room with young boys who, through this season, made a big effort. We are tired. We are battered. You can see the end of the game… this is what I will take home today."
Despite this controversy, Nottingham Forest fans can look forward to an exciting season of European football next year. The team will need to maintain their focus and determination in their remaining Premier League games as they prepare for this historic opportunity.
