Stuart Attwell has reportedly been “banned” from officiating Nottingham Forest matches for the past two years. The 43-year-old last took charge against Forest on April 21, 2024, in a 2-0 defeat to Everton, when the Reds posted the now-infamous tweet criticizing his decision-making as Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Forest, who were subsequently sanctioned for rioting, pointed out that Attwell was a supporter of Luton Town, who were direct rivals in the relegation battle at the time. “Three very poor decisions and three penalties not awarded is completely unacceptable to us,” Forrest said. “We alerted PGMOL before the game that VAR was a Luton fan, but they did not change him. Our patience has been tested many times and the NFFC will now consider its options.”
Attwell has not been assigned to a Forest match since then, with The Athletic reporting that he has been deliberately kept away from Forest matches. There is currently no indication as to when Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) plans to reintroduce the Atwell to Forest game in any form.
He has been excluded from refereeing, VAR and fourth official responsibility in all of Forest’s matches over the past two years. PGMOL has introduced a number of policies, ratified in August 2024, governing the appointment of referees to prevent potential conflicts of interest, while match officials are also required to submit an annual declaration of interest.
The controversial clash between Everton and Forest ended with the latter being accused by the Football Association (FA) of an “attack on the integrity of match officials on an unprecedented scale”.
Attwell was due to be the fourth official in Forest’s FA Cup third-round tie against Wrexham in January, but was then replaced without public notice by Darren England.
However, Attwell is not the first referee to step down as a referee for a particular club. Mark Clattenburg endured a six-year absence from Everton’s Goodison Park following a series of high-profile decisions in the 2007 Merseyside derby.
In Atwell’s case, he chose not to award Forest three penalties in the defeat to Everton, but the result left Forest just one point above the relegation zone.
The Reds were fined £750,000 after the regulatory commission ruled their tweets may have been biased.
Atwell’s most recent Premier League appearance as referee was the 2-2 draw between Tottenham and Brighton on Saturday. He will be in charge for this weekend’s game between West Ham and Everton.
