Nottingham Forest

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Nuno Espirito Santo still has faith in referees despite insisting the situation surrounding Morgan Gibbs-White's red card was a "mess".

The Nottingham Forest boss was sent off in the 2-2 draw at Brighton on Sunday in the aftermath of Gibbs-White's dismissal.

The England international walked after being given a second yellow card for his 83rd-minute challenge on Joao Pedro.

The pair have been charged by the Football Association for their reactions but Nuno will be on the touchline for the visit of Fulham on Saturday after Forest were given until Wednesday [2 October] to present their observations.

Nuno said at the start of the season he trusted the officials - after Forest's high profile issues last term - and Sunday's red cards has not changed that.

"Not at all. We are positive there has been a big effort from referees to improve and make things right and not influence the game," said Nuno, who confirmed he apologised to the officials for his reaction after the game.

"We trust them and are here to support them. But the game is the game.

"Up until today I saw the image many times and I'm not sure sometimes. It looks like a yellow card sometimes, others it's a good tackle. It's a hard one to judge.

"That's why I think us as a club and all the clubs should support the referee as it's a tough task.

"It's very difficult. In that moment Morgan made that effort for the team.

"We were unbalanced, knowing that any goal in that particular moment of the game would be definitive. It's emotional, we are under a lot of stress."

The Key Match Incidents Panel was split 3-2 over Gibbs-White's red card with the majority believing official Robert Jones was wrong to issue a second caution.

But Nuno conceded the confusion, after referee Jones signalled with his hands Gibbs-White - who will miss the visit of the Cottagers - won the ball, did not help.

"That was the mess. But let's hope they improve and we continue," he said, with Forest unbeaten in their opening five Premier League games.

"I don't want to see it as a problem. I see it as a very hard job to do."

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Nuno Espirito Santo will be on the touchline when Nottingham Forest host Fulham on Saturday.

The manager was expected to be banned after he was sent off in Sunday's 2-2 draw at Brighton on Sunday.

But Forest have been given more time to submit their observations after Nuno and Morgan Gibbs-White were charged by the Football Association. They initially had until Friday but requested an extension and now have until Wednesday, 2 October.

Nuno has accepted the blame but is yet to accept the charge.

"There’s always an answer and a response - we will respond to the charges," Nuno said. "I think we deserve an opportunity to answer our view on the incident and we will do so as a club.

"It’s very difficult for managers to control their emotions sometimes. It happens with a lot of managers. It’s an emotional game, an emotional situation - sometimes it’s hard.

"I had the chance to apologise for my behaviours. I think it was accepted. I will try hard not to repeat it."

Nuno was charged by the FA with acting in an improper manner, with the Portuguese manager also alleged to have used abusive and/or insulting words towards a match official.

He was sent off after Gibbs-White was dismissed for receiving a second yellow card for a strong tackle on Joao Pedro with seven minutes left.

The Key Match Incidents panel, which reviews the main decisions in the Premier League each week, was split 3-2, with the majority believing official Robert Jones was wrong to dismiss the midfielder.

The England international has been charged by the Football Association with acting in an improper manner and/or using abusive and/or insulting words towards fourth official Anthony Taylor.

Nuno already has a suspended one-game touchline ban - handed out in August - following his comments after Forest's controversial 2-0 defeat at Everton in April,which saw the club question the integrity of VAR Stuart Attwell on social media.

Martin Dougan
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Fulham (kick-off 15:00).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On his red card against Brighton last weekend: "The charge has been made but I’m going to be available to be at the game. We are just waiting for the final result. Everyone saw the situation, It’s very difficult for a manager to control their emotions. It’s an emotional game with emotional situations. I had a chance to apologise for my behaviour and I think it was accepted. I’ll try not to repeat it."

• He is thrilled to be one of only four unbeaten Premier League teams so far: "We are delighted with that statistic. We want it to continue and we have to work very hard to achieve it. It’s about how we want to progress as a team and what is important now is that every player is putting the team ahead of the individual."

• On Chris Wood's excellent recent form: "He’s a top professional and a fantastic striker. It’s not only about the goals that he scores - it's his voice in the dressing room and what he means for the team and his team-mates. We trust him and I hope it continues."

• He knows Fulham will pose a tough challenge: "Very difficult. Fulham are a good team with good players and a good manager. They are playing good, they are an offensive threat and they defend well."

• However, he is pleased to see Fulham striker Raul Jimenez playing and in form again. Nuno was the Mexico striker's manager when he suffered a head injury against Arsenal in November 2020: "We are always delighted when we meet former players we have worked with. With Raul, it’s always special because of the incident and to watch him coming back and playing football is great. [But] he’s going to be our opponent and we have to be ready to stop him. I am really pleased to see him enjoying football."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Before the first game of the season, Nuno Espirito Santo promised to stop moaning about referees and vowed to trust them.

"I hope not [to moan], honestly," said the Forest boss before the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth in August.

"We had a nice meeting, the managers, and he [referees' chief Howard Webb] explained in detail the changes that they want to implement. Decisions to take less time, better decisions, I'm confident. We have to trust the referees."

Six weeks later, Nuno has been handed a charge by the Football Association for acting in an improper manner and allegedly using abusive and insulting language towards match officials.

It came after Morgan Gibbs-White's red card in Sunday's 2-2 draw at Brighton, with Nuno and Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler dismissed by referee Rob Jones for their reactions to the incident on the touchline.

Nuno can possibly be forgiven for his reaction, given the Key Match Incidents Panel was split on whether Gibbs-White should have been issued a second yellow card for his 83rd-minute tackle on Joao Pedro.

Yet it shows in the heat of the moment, despite the manager's best intentions, emotions can take over.

Nuno, who will be missing from the dugout for Forest's game against Fulham on Saturday, is usually reserved in his news conferences but today he will be asked about the red card and his reaction.

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

It is always difficult to make grand statements or draw sweeping conclusions when it comes to Nottingham Forest. You just don’t know how long any position or form will last.

After 23 years in the wilderness — apologies to the EFL — every Forest fan has experienced the highs and lows of football in a single season, match or even half. The euphoric promotion-winning year was all the more unbelievable because it was, quite literally, unbelievable.

That said, Sunday’s draw against Brighton & Hove Albion was exactly the kind of game we’d have lost last season. And, hopefully, proves to be exactly the sort of game we can continue to compete in this season.

For the second game in a row, the substitutions made the difference. And for the fifth game this season, a defensive solidity enabled us to come away with something. There are, naturally, elements of our performance to work on too.

A resilience, determination and belief has existed on Trentside for a number of years now. It’s just that it comes and goes as it pleases. But the unbeaten start to this season shows that the squad’s unity and togetherness — as well as its talent — is a determining factor.

We will, of course, lose sooner or later. And it may or may not be of our own doing. We know though that there is enough depth, quality and confidence to bounce back – and that there will be bumps in the road rather than any significant turning point.

While it may be difficult to predict our final destination this season, there does appear to be an upward trajectory that suggests we might be able to draw conclusions about what Forest are really made of — even if they’re not sweeping.

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external

Nottingham Forest are the latest club to express an interest in 20-year-old Luca Koleosho after the American winger's impressive form at Burnley. (Football Insider), external

Real Madrid are monitoring Nottingham Forest defender Murillo, 22, but face competition from Barcelona and Bayern Munich for the Brazilian. (HITC), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Brighton and Nottingham Forest.

Here are some of your comments:

Brighton fans

Barney: We were dominant. If you asked a Brighton fan who Nottingham Forest's man of the match was, I guarantee you it was the referee Robert Jones. He gave a silly penalty, unintentional free-kicks and was just an all-round terrible referee. Even Morgan Gibbs-White's red card was silly.

Geoff: Back-to-back home games where we had chances to win, but didn't take them. Very similar to what happened last season in games against teams that we just have to win against, if we have ambitions of European football. The referee was comical - consistently getting things wrong and then he totally lost control at the end with the red cards for the managers.

Finley: I believe both teams played equally well, although I think Brighton managed to engage a bit more in the second half. The altercation with the referee and managers shouldn't have been a red card.

Noddy: A game of two teams: one that can stand up with poor tackles coming in and the other that likes to fall down as if they were blown over. It was not a fair result. We can all take losing but not when there are 12 players against 11 from the start. The game was good to watch when all of the players stayed on their feet.

Forest fans

Stefan: We played well yet again. We soaked up their attack when we needed to and made chances for ourselves. Scoring hasn't been a problem so far this season and our defence looks solid. I don't know what Nuno did to this team in pre-season, but I'm loving it! We are still undefeated - still pushing and still improving.

Fosi: A big point. Horrendous refereeing. Why didn't VAR tell the referee that Morgan Gibbs-White got the ball? Is the system not working still? I'm not happy with Matz Sels - three games and three big mistakes. He is costing us stupid goals!

Sean: That game had everything and there were times where the result could have swung the way of either team. Considering how good Brighton are, and how much they were in the ascendancy after scoring, I think we were lucky to come away with a point but that is a sign of our progress under Nuno. We were able to hold on to the point, even with 10 men at the end.

Andy: Good away point. In the last two seasons we have had decisions go against us, especially from VAR. I will take that point all day against a very good Brighton side. Next up is Fulham, another test for Forest.

Image source, PA Media

The main talking point from Brighton's 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest was Morgan Gibbs-White's red card for the visitors late in the game.

Both managers were sent from the dugout in the aftermath of Gibbs-White being shown a second yellow card for a challenge on Joao Pedro.

On BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast, presenter Darren Fletcher said he thought Forest were so angry with the decision because referee Rob Jones had signalled Gibbs-White had played the ball, before then dismissing the midfielder.

"He's either got to stick to it [his first decision] or they [referees] have got to be told not to be so rash," said ex-England goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

"He does get the ball, but it's the force he goes with and the pace of the tackle where he catches the player and you can understand why the card has been given.

"It's one of those: you can understand both arguments, but the referee has caused himself the problems by running over there and initially making the shape of the ball. Then, that's when everything's gone off because the Forest manager is immediately thinking 'the referee's told me he's got the ball and now he's sent him off, how can that be right?'"

Former Aston Villa and West Ham midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker said: "As a referee, you've got to stick to what you did and he did the ball sign.

"When he changed his mind, I knew instantly this is going to be what this whole game is going to be spoken about. We had a brilliant game of football but again we're going to be talking about a refereeing decision."

Listen to more reaction to Sunday's games on BBC Sounds

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's two Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to the weekend's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Liverpool 3-0 Bournemouth

• Crystal Palace 0-0 Man Utd

• Brighton 2-2 Nottingham Forest

• Man City 2-2 Arsenal

Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Fulham are monitoring Galatasaray’s 24-year-old winger Baris Alper Yilmaz.

Meanwhile, Forest, Brighton and Tottenham are interested in 19-year-old fellow Turkey forward Semih Kilicsoy, who is at Besiktas. (CaughtOffside), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Michael Emons
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Reuters

Nottingham Forest continued their impressive start to the season as they maintained their unbeaten league record in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Brighton.

For the fifth time in five Premier League matches, Forest took the lead, following an early penalty from Chris Wood after Callum Hudson-Odoi had been tripped by Carlos Baleba.

Forest had gained their best result of the season last time out, winning 1-0 at Anfield against Liverpool, but they could not hang on to make it three successive away wins.

But overall, Nuno Espirito Santo's side will be happy to fight back and earn a point after two goals just before half-time had swung the game in the hosts' favour.

Substitute Ramon Sosa got the equaliser midway through the second half, converting from Morgan Gibbs-White's pass.

But Gibbs-White, along with both managers, was sent off late on in a frantic finale, although the 10 men of Forest were able to hold on to a hard-fought point.

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest captain Ryan Yates on how he feels after today's draw: "Very happy. We know how good Brighton are, from back to front they have quality all over the pitch. They have a fantastic young manager and play the game the right way.

"We created some dangerous attacks and they dominated for the most part but we created our chances. So we take the point."

On the red cards: "Nothing too much has been said really. We leave that down to the referee, that is his call and what he is paid for. So yeah nothing much to say on it.

"It is not ideal [to be without Nuno Espirito Santo for the next game] but we just have to make sure that we perform on the pitch. We will have the same sort of week but we won't have him shouting on the touchline [next game]."

On the first half: "It was really good. We caught them by surprise - we had a game plan to get down the sides and Callum did well to win the penalty. But with good teams if you don't stop them building back into it and gaining composure or stop their home crowd getting up then it can quickly be two.

"Half-time came at a good time, we re-grouped and we just wanted to show the fight and resilience that we have done all season."

On missing out on a winner: "I'm just thinking about my job at the back of the pitch and if the lads can put the chances away at the other end then great. We had a chance right at the end, think it was offside anyway but I thought we might have nicked it."

Stephen Warnock
Former Liverpool defender on BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, Getty Images

The red card was right in front of us. Straight away I was thinking credit to Morgan Gibbs-White - he has covered ground and stopped the counter-attack.

You see it again on the replay, and everything looks worse on a replay, the ankle [of Joao Pedro] collapses underneath him, but that is momentum.

Rob Jones takes his time - and he is still getting booed off the pitch for the way he has refereed the game. I thought he handled it OK, he took his time to make the decision.

We have come to accept this season that the referee's decision on the pitch is the final decision - and I don't mind that.

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest assistant boss Rui Pedro Silva has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day after the draw: "From my point of view, from the bench, Morgan Gibbs-White's tackle looked like a fair tackle. A strong one, but a fair one. It was not one to hurt anyone. Of course, the referee has a different point of view. We don't have to agree, but that is the decision he made.

"On the coach's red cards, I did not hear anything. It was an emotional moment. I did not hear anything from the mouth of Nuno that said anything towards the referee, he only stated his point of view. He was, of course, probably emotional but nothing more than [saying] his point of view."

On whether emotions went overboard in the game: "The Premier League is very intense, so it's normal for the game to be intense for us on the bench as well. We are always respectful to the referees. There is nothing against them, we are just us living the game."

On the clinical finishing from Forest: "We know the team that they are and the lines that they like to play. In the beginning, we had that under control and did not give them what they wanted and the boys took their chances.

"We lost momentum at the end of the half and they scored two goals. That was too much, but we had lost control. So we made some changes and tried to make some more chances and get more control back. The substitutes made a good impact.

"Everybody knows the plan and sticks to the process and it was very good for us."

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest are unbeaten across their last five Premier League away games (W4 D1), their longest run in the competition since a streak of 12 undefeated matches on the road between February and October 1995.

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest forward Chris Wood has been speaking to Sky Sports following the draw: "It is always good to get something out of the game when coming away from home in the Premier League. Brighton is a tough place to come, they are a good side.

"In the manner of how the game has played out, at times we deserved the point, but we had to work hard for the point as well."

On the three red cards: "I would have to see the challenge back, I haven't seen it. It is one of those, Morgan has made a rash decision and we have to move on with that. The managers will have to come and comment on that - that is what they do.

"Everyone wants to win and fight in the Premier League and points are hard to come by."

Failing to capitalise on the lead: "We got into the lead well and they weren't causing us too many problems until the goal went in. Then we went on a down spell and they had a good spell. They are a good side, and that's how it goes.

"Unfortunately, we couldn't capitalise on it but we have a strong character in the group, fought back and scored a lovely goal to equalise."

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Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week five, he takes on singer-songwriter and West Ham fan James Smith whose debut album, Common People, is out now.

Brighton host Nottingham Forest on Sunday at 14:00 BST...

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

It is hard to predict a defeat for Nottingham Forest now because they were so good at Liverpool and their backline of Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo, Alex Moreno and Ola Aina were just tremendous.

Forest also had James Ward-Prowse just sitting in front of their back four ticking things over and Ryan Yates alongside him getting on everyone's nerves with his tenacity.

Their substitutes came on and impacted the game at Anfield as well and the whole team had such composure.

So, while I look at Brighton and think they are capable of scoring, based on what I saw from Forest, why would I say they will lose?

I don't think Brighton will lose at home either, so I am really sorry, but I am going to have to go for another draw.

James's prediction: 2-2

This is an interesting one... they have both started well, so I am going to go for another draw.

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis talks to BBC East Midlands about his hopes for a 50,000-seat redevelopment at the City Ground and future aspirations for the Reds.

Read more about Forest's stadium plans here.

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo credits former Reds manager Brian Clough for giving the club "the mentality of knowing that anything is possible in football".

It has been 20 years since club legend Clough died at the age of 69 in 2004.

During his 18-year spell with Forest, he took them from Division Two to winning the First Division title in 1978, followed by two consecutive European Cup wins in 1979 and 1980 and four League Cup trophies.

"It is present in us every day. We go around the club and we see how Brian Clough was important for Forest," Nuno told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"What he achieved and how things change. The mentality of knowing that anything is possible in football and that is credit to Brian and the players of that fantastic moment.

"There is so much to learn if you go deeper and try to understand the evolution of the game. [Arrigo] Sacchi, for example, and his great Milan team, in Portugal with Sporting, Real Madrid. If you go deep and understand how the game has evolved and now is going back again it is curious.

"But of course, me personally I try to go 30 or 40 years back and you can still find some videos and footage. You can see what football players did then because they played with freedom."

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds