:Nottingham Forest’s referee analyst Mark Clattenburg resigned on Friday and manager Nuno Espirito Santo and defender Neco Williams were charged with misconduct following their reaction after a 2-0 defeat at Everton last month.
Former Premier League referee Clattenburg and Forest received widespread criticism for their comments after being denied three penalties at Goodison Park.
Forest issued a statement on social media, accusing the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Stuart Attwell of being a Luton Town fan.
Clattenburg, who described the refereeing decisions as a “joke”, was formally warned as to his future conduct.
“I performed my services under the consultancy agreement in good faith, to the best of my abilities and in the hope of using my extensive experience as a match official to help NFFC understand how decisions in relation to key match incidents are made amid the workings of VAR,” Clattenburg said in a statement on the club website.
The Premier League said it was extremely disappointed to read the Forest statement and launched an investigation.
“It is now clear that the existence and performance of these consultancy services has caused unintended friction between NFFC and other participants, to the extent that it has become more of a hindrance than help to NFFC,” Clattenburg said.
“It has also led to the unmerited targeting of me, personally, by certain participants and pundits.”
Nuno and Williams have until May 9 to respond to the charges.
“It’s alleged that the club, manager and player’s comments constitute improper conduct in that they imply bias and/or question the integrity of the match officials and/or bring the game into disrepute,” the FA said in a statement.
Having been docked four points for financial breaches, Forest are 17th in the standings with 26 points.
