Premier League release statement on why VAR decided not to award Nottingham Forest a penalty vs Wolves
01/06/2025 05:25 PM
Nottingham Forest defeated Wolves 3-0 at Molineux as the Reds made it six wins in succession and made it to 40 points for the season.
Although Forest managed to score two goals in the first half of the contest, there was a contentious situation with the Reds one goal to the good.
As Ola Aina fizzed the ball into the area, the ball appeared to catch the hand of Rayan Ait-Nouri in the penalty area.
It looked for all the world like an on-field review would be recommended to Peter Bankes but it never came much to the surprise of the Forest players.
It’s not the first time that Forest have been left frustrated with VAR in the past, with Evangelos Marinakis serving a stadium ban earlier this season.
Nuno Espirito Santo himself had to serve a touchline ban after feeling aggrieved against Brighton earlier in the season.
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Premier League release statement on Nottingham Forest decision vs Wolves
The Reds were cruelly denied a penalty when the decision came back that the check had been cleared the the VAR didn’t recognise a clear and obvious error.
Shortly after, it was claimed on the official Premier League social media channel why the decision didn’t go in Forest’s favour.
The post read: The referee’s call of no penalty for a potential handball by Ait-Nouri was checked and confirmed by VAR, who deemed his arm was in a natural position.”
Forest won’t dwell on it but handball law needs rectifying
In our view, had this one happened against one of the more conventional big six clubs, it might have been given.
It seemed an awfully quick check for a decision at a pivotal time in the game and thankfully Forest weren’t left to rue the major call.
Frankly, as supporters, were getting towards the stage where nobody really knows what constitutes as handball anymore.
Ait-Nouri’s arm was pretty clearly not in a natural position and ultimately, this decision felt like a real bad one.
Ultimately, Forest can park it and move on but the powers that be have to get their act together when it comes to the deliberate handball law.
