Nottingham Forest star ‘very fortunate’ to escape Premier League ban after Newcastle United incident

Anthony Taylor was the man in the middle at the City Ground in what was deemed by many Forest fans as a controversial appointment ahead of the game. Taylor was heavily involved in the sending off of Nuno Espirito Santo during Forest’s draw with Brighton and was at the centre of chants from the home fans throughout proceedings on Sunday afternoon.

However, despite these chants, former Premier League referee Jeff Winter believes Forest were lucky to not be reduced to ten men early in the match after Ryan Yates caught Tino Livramento with an elbow. Despite Newcastle protestations, Taylor waved away their appeals and ended up booking Dan Burn for a foul on Morgan Gibbs-White just seconds later.

That yellow card for Burn means he will miss their clash with West Ham after the international break through suspension. Speaking post-match to the Gazette on the incident, Eddie Howe admitted his side were denied a ‘clear’ free-kick: “It’s very rare you see me run to the fourth official but I thought Tino had been elbowed in the face and it was a clear free-kick,” Howe said. “It wasn’t given and Dan paid the price for that really. He feels like he has to make the foul in that moment.

“We knew we were going to lose Dan at some stage and Fabby and Joey are in the same position so I’m probably pleased we’re not losing them all at the same time. It’s a huge blow to lose Dan, he’s done very well this season.”

And Howe’s view is shared by Winter who told Grosvenor Casinos that both Taylor and VAR missed a potential red card and that Yates was ‘very fortunate’ to stay on the pitch: “With this one it has you thinking, when does VAR get involved?” Winter said.

“The temperature in those few seconds after the incident went right through the roof, because there was another foul seconds later where I think the Newcastle players sought a little bit of retribution, and that was seen and given.

“As I understand it, VAR is supposed to be looking at all red card offences now. Was that a red card offence? I would say at the very least it was a yellow card.

“This is one of those where you’re thinking if it falls into the orange category, and are we re-refereeing the game? That's my frustration, what is and what isn't? And if the referees don't have it fully explained to them and aren’t aware, then what is going on? They should know, and the VAR.

“So, we just get this lack of consistency from one tackle one week to another tackle the other. With this example, it was almost in a previous phase of play. But Livramento has gone to the deck and there appears to be the use of an elbow. Somebody far higher up the food chain then has decided it's not and we're all left scratching our heads. I think he was very fortunate.”