Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has issued a statement clarifying his actions after a notable incident saw him storm onto the pitch, appearing to confront manager Nuno Espirito Santo. This striking event followed Forest`s frustrating 2-2 draw against already relegated Leicester City, a result that significantly hindered the club`s aspirations for European football.
A visibly angry Marinakis rushed onto the pitch at the final whistle. Initially, he seemed to be walking past Nuno, but he stopped and made angry gestures while exchanging words with the manager.
Marinakis`s frustration reportedly stemmed from striker Taiwo Awoniyi being kept on the pitch despite sustaining an injury. Awoniyi was hurt after colliding with the goalpost while attempting a sliding tackle or shot.
Medical staff assessed Awoniyi and initially gave clearance for him to continue playing, but subsequently revised their decision. Crucially, by this time, Nuno had already used his third and final substitution on Elliot Anderson, leaving Forest unable to replace the injured player.
In a statement addressing the incident and the team`s performance, Marinakis said: “Today is a day for celebration, because after 30 years Nottingham Forest is now guaranteed to be competing on the European stage once again – a promise I made to our supporters when we achieved promotion.
“With two more games to go in the Premier League, we must keep believing and keep dreaming, right to the final kick in the final game.
“We are extremely proud and close to Nuno and the team, and we must all celebrate the historic achievements of this season.
“Everybody – coaching staff, players, supporters and including myself – we were frustrated around the injury of Taiwo and the medical staff’s misjudgement on Taiwo’s ability to continue the game.
“This is natural, this is a demonstration of the passion we feel for our club. Let’s all be grateful, passionate and keep on dreaming.”
Speaking after the match, Nuno commented on the situation: “It was a tough moment, after the situation with [Taiwo Awoniyi] we had one man less after a misunderstanding.”
“It`s difficult to control emotions when we had so much expectation on a day like this,” he added, acknowledging the high stakes involved.
When asked directly if the Awoniyi injury situation prompted the owner`s reaction, Nuno confirmed: “Yes, it was because of that. It was a misunderstanding, a miscommunication. I’m sorry, I cannot go much further [into details].”
He downplayed the confrontation itself, stating: “It’s based on emotions, you cannot make a big deal out of it. It happens and it will happen again. With the emotions today, it’s understandable.”
Later in his press conference, Nuno elaborated slightly on the confusion: “It was a misunderstanding between the coaching and medical department and we were both frustrated.”
He then spoke positively about Marinakis`s involvement: “It is because of the owner`s passion that we are growing as a club. he pushes us. He wants us to do better.”
“If it was the other way round maybe one [game] ago he would say, `OK we have the job done that`s normal`.”
“His desire and passion is to be a big club. Honestly, as a club we owe a lot to the Marinakis family,” Nuno concluded.
