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‘The same every week you c**t!’ – Premier League coach banned and fined for expletive-laden rant at referee Paul Tierney after Liverpool defeat
Nottingham Forest manager Steven Reid has been penalized by the Football Association for his use of expletives directed at referee Paul Tierney following their defeat to Liverpool.
Reid has received a two-match ban and a £5,000 fine for his misconduct towards Tierney, which occurred after Darwin Nunez scored the winning goal deep into stoppage time at City Ground on March 2nd. Additionally, Forest has been fined £75,000 for their failure to control their players and staff from behaving improperly after the final whistle.
The altercation arose from a contentious decision by Tierney to award possession back to Liverpool via a drop-ball, despite Forest having possession before play was halted due to a head injury to Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate.
Mark Clattenburg, a former Premier League referee and currently working as Forest’s referee analyst, criticised the decision and told BBC Radio 5: “If the referee stops the game, he has to give the ball back to the team in possession. That was Forest.”
Tierney mentioned the incident in his match report and wrote: “Following the final whistle I was surrounded by members of Nottingham Forest’s substitutes and backroom staff on the field of play. One of those who approached me was Steven Reid, who was not listed on the teamsheet. He asked me about a decision and I said to him that I would speak to him inside and not outside on the field of play. He then continued to question me and I repeated that I would speak to him inside. He then said, ‘It’s the same every week, you [expletive]’.”
Following the incident, it was revealed that referee Paul Tierney showed Steven Reid a red card for his comments. While Reid admitted to using abusive language initially, he denied continuing to do so after being sent off. However, Tierney and the assistant referees reported Reid’s repeated swearing and confrontational behavior as they left the field, leading to the substantiation of the charges.
Forest also admitted that owner Evangelos Marinakis approached Tierney after the match, but they dismissed reports of any altercation requiring restraint.
This isn’t the first time Forest has faced sanctions for misconduct toward match officials. Over the past 18 months, the club has been involved in similar incidents on three prior occasions, raising concerns about their disciplinary conduct.
As a result, the regulatory commission has issued a warning to Forest, stating that “future breaches of the rules may be treated more severely.” This emphasizes the need for the club to address their behavior and ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.