Nottingham Forest’s appeal against a £750,000 fine for a social media post criticizing Premier League referee Stuart Attwell has been rejected.
The club posted the message last April following a 2-0 defeat to Everton, during which they felt they were denied three clear penalty opportunities. Forest accused Attwell, who served as the video assistant referee for that match, of being a fan of their relegation rivals, Luton, and expressed frustration with the refereeing decisions, stating, “Our patience has been tested multiple times.”
In October, a regulatory commission imposed the £750,000 fine, and Forest immediately announced plans to appeal, arguing that the penalty was excessive.
The Football Association (FA) condemned the post as an “egregious, direct, and public attack” on Attwell and referees in general, calling it an unprecedented attack on match officials.
On Monday, the FA confirmed that an appeal board had upheld the original sanction and ordered that the post be removed. Although the link to the post on X was not working by Monday, the club did not immediately confirm whether it had been taken down.
The appeal board stated in its ruling that the original commission had rightly placed significant weight on the need for deterrence and noted that Forest’s lack of mitigation was “particularly striking.”
While Forest survived relegation last season, Luton was relegated to the Championship. This season, Forest is currently third in the Premier League, pushing for a Champions League spot.