Nottingham Forest coach Steven Reid has denied using insulting language towards a match official but has since been banned for two matches following the controversial Liverpool incident
Nottingham Forest have been fined £75,000 by the FA after their furious backlash towards referee Paul Tierney following the last-gasp defeat to Liverpool earlier this month.
And assistant coach Steven Reid has been handed a two-game touchline ban and additional fined £5,000 for calling the official a “c***” on three occasions as Forest raged at full-time.
Players and staff were incensed by Darwin Nunez’s added time goal being allowed to stand because of a mistake made by Tierney a minute earlier. The referee wrongly gave Liverpool an uncontested drop ball following a stoppage for a head injury.
Reid denied that he behaved in an improper manner but Forest’s reaction was deemed a breach of Rule E20 by the three-person independent commission – making it the eighth occasion since 2018 that the club have been punished for falling foul of that specific regulation.
In a statement, the FA said: “An independent Regulatory Commission has sanctioned Nottingham Forest and Steven Reid following their Premier League game against Liverpool on Saturday 2 March.
“The club admitted that it failed to ensure its players and technical area occupants did not behave in an improper way after the final whistle. The independent Regulatory Commission imposed a £75,000 fine following a subsequent hearing.
“The coach admitted that his language towards a match official which led to him being sent off was abusive and insulting. Steven Reid denied that he acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting language towards a match official after being sent off.
“The independent Regulatory Commission found the second charge to be proven, and it imposed a two-match extended touchline suspension and £5,000 fine following the hearing.”
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis also appeared in the tunnel area at the end of the game to air his grievances, while ex-ref Mark Clattenburg (who has been working for Forest in an advisory capacity) addressed journalists after the game to explain the East Midlands’ club’s frustrations.
In an extraordinary incident report, referee Tierney said of the Reid exchange: “He asked me about a decision and I said to him that I will speak to him inside and not outside on the field of play. He then continued to question me and I repeated that I would speak to him inside. “He then said, ‘it’s the same every week, you c***t.’
“I showed him the red card and then he said “I worked with you f***ing lot every f***ing week last season. It’s the same every f***ng week you c***”. He then continued to use the word f*** and called me a c*** on at least one more occasion (making that a minimum of 3 in total) as we were making our way off the field of play.”
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Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
