Stuart Attwell barred from Nottingham Forest matches after VAR dispute
Premier League referee Stuart Attwell has been deliberately kept off Nottingham Forest fixtures following the club’s controversial social media post about him last season.
The 43-year-old last officiated a game involving the East Midlands club during their 2-0 defeat to Everton in April 2024.
During that fixture, the official was on Video Assistant Referee (VAR) duty and turned down three penalty appeals.
The decisions prompted an explosive statement from the Reds on social media, publicly questioning the integrity of the match official.
Forest highlighted his alleged support for Luton Town, who were their direct relegation rivals at the time.
“Three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept,” Forest said.
“We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn’t change him.”
Silent omissions and heavy fines
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) have reportedly ensured the experienced referee is excluded from all capacities involving the City Ground side.
He was scheduled to be the fourth official for a recent FA Cup third-round tie at Wrexham in January.
However, Darren England quietly replaced him without any formal announcement being made by the authorities.
The Football Association eventually fined Forest £750,000 for their unprecedented public outburst regarding the incident.
An independent regulatory commission ruled that the social media post constituted an attack on the integrity of a match official.
Historical refereeing precedents
It is not the first time the Premier League’s refereeing body has separated an official from a specific club to avoid conflict.
Mark Clattenburg notably served a six-year absence from Everton’s Goodison Park following a highly controversial Merseyside derby in 2007.
Similarly, Martin Atkinson was previously kept away from Manchester United matches after a dispute involving former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
To combat future conflicts of interest, PGMOL approved new policies in August 2024 that require match officials to submit an annual declaration of their allegiances.
The Warwickshire-born official continues to referee regularly in the top flight, recently taking charge of Tottenham’s 2-2 draw with Brighton.
