GREEK TRAGEDY
‘Scandalous’ – Gary Neville tells Nuno to QUIT Forest tonight after furious owner Marinakis storms onto pitch
It is not the first time the Forest owner has committed such an act
NOTTINGHAM FOREST owner Evangelos Marinakis charged on to the pitch and appeared to confront his manager Nuno Espirito Santo at the final whistle against Leicester.
Forest conceded in the last ten minutes to draw 2-2 with the Foxes - denting their Champions League aspirations.
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That led Marinakis to enter the field of play as players, coaches and officials went through their post-match handshakes.
The Greek appeared as if he would walk past Nuno initially, but he turned around and spoke to the Forest boss after he had finished his interaction with Oliver Skipp, whom he worked with at Tottenham.
Marinakis began gesticulating and appeared frustrated as he spoke to Nuno in what seemed a forceful manner.
Nuno looked a bit resigned to what he was being told, and stretched out his arms in an almost shrug.
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He said a few words back to boss Marinakis, who threw his arms in the air before walking away from the Portuguese.
Gary Neville was dismayed by the behaviour, and hit out at Marinakis.
He tweeted: “Scandalous from that Forest owner.
“Nuno should go and negotiate his exit tonight with him! The Forest fans, players and manager do not deserve that.”
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Neville later emphasised his view again on Sky Sports, saying: "I feel compelled just to mention what the Forest owner has just done on the pitch over at the City Ground is absolutely scandalous.
“If I was Nuno I'd be going and having a strong word with him because that is an absolute scandal.
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“He's just qualified for European competition and where that club's been, and to be remonstrated with on the pitch in front of their own fans is an absolute joke.”
Nuno explained Marinakis was frustrated over Taiwo Awoniyi, who played on despite being hurt after colliding with the post.
Awoniyi was asked if he needed to be brought off but he said no, so Nuno threw on Jota Silva for Elliot Anderson instead, using his final available substitution slot.
However Awoniyi was actually hurt and was not able to perform to the levels required for the last ten minutes, provoking Marinakis' irritation.
Nuno said post-match: “Football is emotions. Today there were more than 30,000 people in the ground with their own emotions. 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.”
Asked if the Awoniyi situation sparked Marinakis' reaction, Nuno confirmed: “Yes, it was because of that. It was a misunderstanding, a miscommunication. I’m sorry, I cannot go much further.
“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.”
Marinakis later addressed the issue in a statement, which read: "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."
It is not the first time Marinakis has stormed the pitch following the final whistle.
In March last year he entered the pitch to speak to officials after Darwin Nunez snatched a last-gasp winner for Liverpool at the City Ground.
He was left fuming after the Reds took advantage of nine minutes stoppage time to score.
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Referee Paul Tierney also stopped a Forest attack after Ibrahima Konate went down with an apparent head injury.
Marinakis was allegedly removed by security after chasing Tierney down the tunnel.
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