The controversial conclusion of Nottingham Forest vs. Liverpool earlier this month prompted the Football Association to impose sanctions.
Following the contentious Premier League matchup with Liverpool, Nottingham Forest was hit with a massive fine and their first-team coach, Steven Reid, was suspended for two games by the Football Association.
Reid was sent off for approaching referee Paul Tierney after the game’s final whistle at the City Ground earlier this month. Darwin Nunez’s thrilling injury-time goal gave the Reds a 1-0 victory.
The action was stopped with Forest on the attack two minutes earlier due to a head injury sustained by Ibrahima Konate, and Forest were incensed because Tierney had started the sequence incorrectly by dropping a pass unopposed to Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Evangelos Marinakis, the owner of Forest, rushed onto the field while Reid argued with Tierney and was eventually removed. And the FA has now fined the relegation-threatened team £75,000, with Reid receiving a two-game touchline suspension and a £5,000 punishment. The team was previously hit with a four-point penalty for financial violations.
In his Extraordinary Incident Report following the match, Tierney described the flashpoint as follows: “After the final whistle, I was encircled on the field of play by Nottingham Forest’s technical personnel and substitutes. Steven Reid was one of the people that came up to me. When he questioned me about a choice, I told him that I would talk to him indoors rather than outside on the playing field.
“I told him again that I would talk to him inside, but he persisted in his questioning. “It’s the same every week, you c***,” he continued. He said, “I worked with you f***ing lot every f***ing week last season, and it’s the same every f***ing week you c***,” after I handed him the red card.
As we were leaving the playing field, he proceeded to call me a c*** and use the term f*** on at least one more occasion, for a minimum of three instances in all.”
Reid acknowledged using derogatory and abusive words against a match official on one occasion, but he denied committing the same offense again. But the impartial Regulatory Commission determined the case was solid, which resulted in his prolonged suspension.
