Nottingham Forest have launched legal action against Sky Sports for their coverage of a social media post, but the owner of the club has called out Sky Sports for not telling the truth.
In April, the club publicly questioned the appointment of referee Stuart Atwell, accusing him of being a Luton fan and calling into question his integrity, which sparked a strong backlash from sections of the football media.
Forest took offence after they had three penalty appeals turned down by on-field referee Anthony Taylor during a 2-0 defeat against Everton on April 21, with Atwell on VAR upholding the decisions.
Forest said on X: “Three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept.
“We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn’t change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times. NFFC will now consider its options.”
Neville described the club’s social media post in April as like a “mafia gang statement”, and Nottingham Forest were reportedly drafting a letter to the broadcaster over those comments.
Neville continued: “ I mean, honestly, what the hell are they playing at? It’s like a petulant child, it’s embarrassing.”
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis stood by the club statement and criticised the broadcaster, telling the Mail: “I can bring you 100 examples of times they (Sky Sports and pundits) exaggerated, didn’t say the truth and humiliated people.
“Neville is subject to FA rules too, surely – he is a director of Salford FC. His comment about the club was outrageous, but the FA have done nothing.
“I need to be careful – because our lawyers have already been in contact with Sky regarding Neville and this is not over yet. The comments and words he used were inappropriate, didn’t correspond with reality and harmed people.”
Clattenburg took up a consulting role with the Midlands club to help players and staff understand VAR and how decisions were made, but resigned from his role on Friday after a number of controversies surrounding the club and referees.
Sky Sports removed an article from their website on Friday night where Gary Neville appeared to backtrack on comments aimed at Mark Clattenburg, and calling for his resignation, the Mail has also reported.