Nottingham Forest are said to have written to the English Football League seeking reforms to the Championship.
Owner Evangelos Marinakis believes it is “imperative” VAR is implemented in the second tier, according to the Daily Mail. It comes after the Reds were left frustrated by a decision which went against them in Tuesday night’s crucial 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth.
The visitors felt they should have had a penalty when Sam Surridge was caught by goalkeeper Mark Travers in the first half. But instead, he was incorrectly ruled to have been offside.
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Boss Steve Cooper said referee Stuart Attwell apologised to him after the game. The Welshman called it a “huge error”, and it proved decisive as victory for the Cherries meant they secured automatic promotion, leaving Forest having to settle for the play-offs.
Marinakis told the BBC of his “frustrations” after the match, with the Greek said to be “not happy” with the EFL. He is said to want to see “a fair referee and federation so that the game can be decided on the grass”.
The Mail report he has complained to the EFL about the standard of officiating. And the shipping magnate is also said to be “unhappy about the current television deal in the second tier, which he believes is 'extremely low' considering the financial potential of the division”.
The Championship’s deal with Sky Sports is said to see clubs bank roughly £2.5m a year, with further cash based on how many of their games are screened live. It is claimed the Reds want a “fully impartial and fully professional governing body” to benefit clubs in the division.
Cooper said after the midweek loss at the Vitality Stadium: “The players are disappointed, of course. And really annoyed with the ref; really annoyed with the referee.
“When the referee has asked to see me and apologised, held his hands up, it doesn’t make it any better. I think he’s tried to soften me up, to be honest, because he knows he and the linesman have made a huge error.
“But it won’t soften me up. These things need to be reported correctly, which we do.
“I sort of said that it could be season-defining. I got the feeling that they wanted to speak to me, to nip it in the bud.
“We know that decisions haven’t really been good for us this year. But I don’t want to moan about that, or I’ll be here forever.”
Reports have suggested VAR could be in use for the Championship play-offs this year as Forest bid to secure promotion. They will find out who they will face in the semi-finals after this weekend’s final round of league fixtures, with four teams in contention to join the Reds and Huddersfield Town in the fight to reach Wembley.
