Premier League referee Stuart Attwell has not officiated a Nottingham Forest match for two years.
Premier League referee Stuart Attwell has been kept away from the Nottingham Forest match (Image: Getty Images)
Stuart Atwell has been ‘banned’ from refereeing for Nottingham Forest for the past two years.
The 43-year-old last appeared in a game for Forest in a 2-0 defeat against Everton on April 21, 2024, when the Reds posted the infamous tweet criticizing his decision-making as a Video Assistant Referee (VAR). Forest, who was subsequently suspended for abusive language, noted that Attwell was a fan 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.”
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Attwell has not featured in a Forest match since then, with The Athletic claiming he has been deliberately kept away from Forest matches. There is no indication as to when Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) will reintroduce the Atwell to Forest match in any form.
He has been removed from refereeing, VAR and fourth official duties at all of Forest’s matches for the past two years. PGMOL has set out several policies regarding the appointment of referees to ensure there are no conflicts of interest issues, which were approved in August 2024, and match officials will also be required to submit an annual declaration of interest.
The controversial match between Everton and Forest ended with Forest being accused by the English Football Association (FA) of an “attack on the integrity of match officials on an unprecedented scale”.
Forest publicly criticized Atwell after losing to Everton in the Premier League last season (Image: Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
In January, Atwell was scheduled to be the fourth official in Forest’s FA Cup third round match against Wrexham, but was then replaced by Darren England without further announcement.
However, Atwell is not the first referee to be sacked as a referee for a particular club. Mark Clattenburg has been away from Everton’s Goodison Park for six years after making some high-profile decisions in the 2007 Merseyside derby.
Meanwhile, Martin Atkinson appears to have been kept out of Manchester United games due to issues with Sir Alex Ferguson and assistant manager Carlos Queiroz.
Attwell stopped giving Forest three penalties in the defeat to Everton, which left them one point above the relegation zone.
The Reds were fined £750,000 after the regulatory commission ruled the tweets may have been biased.
Attwell’s most recent Premier League match was Tottenham’s 2-2 draw with Brighton on Saturday. He will be in the midfield for this weekend’s game between West Ham and Everton.
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