Everton v Nottingham Forest: Pundit issues hacked Twitter account admission
Michael Ball has slammed Nottingham Forest for their statement after the loss against Everton on Sunday, 21 April.
The game ended 2-0 in favour of the Toffees and there were a handful of contentious decisions during the game.
Forest claim that the VAR was a Luton Town fan and that played a part in shaping the result of the game.
Ball told the Liverpool Echo on 22 April: “I couldn’t believe what I was reading when I saw Nottingham Forest’s tweet on the full-time whistle after they were beaten 2-0 by Everton.
“It was very strange. I didn’t think it was real at first, I thought it was from a fake account or that they’d been hacked.
“As Evertonians we’ve been really frustrated and questioned the decisions against us like Antonee Robinson had Fulham when it hit his hand – there have been so many – and although we probably were a touch lucky, that statement seems to go a step too far.”
Nottingham Forest sore losers after Everton clash
The statement issued by Forest on the full-time whistle was seen as a childish and strange move, especially given the context of the Premier League’s ongoing struggles with VAR and refereeing decisions.
Critics argue that the statement was a step too far and that every club in the Premier League faces challenges with officiating decisions.
Additionally, the technology to implement VAR correctly is still lacking, and this has led to a loss of joy in football as fine margins are scrutinised.
Forest’s hiring of Mark Clattenburg to push for the integrity of the sport with officials has been undermined by the club’s own actions, as they have seemingly failed to accept responsibility for their own performance on the pitch.
Survival in the Premier League is a challenging prospect for all teams, but publicly questioning the integrity of the officiating process is not the answer.
Instead, Forest should focus on improving their performance on the pitch and engaging in constructive dialogue with the league and officials to address ongoing issues with VAR and refereeing decisions.
In other Everton news, a senior player may never start for the club again after the Chelsea loss and is now very likely to leave in June.
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