NafisaNottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was seen in a heated confrontation with Nuno Espirito Santo as their Champions League ambitions suffered another setback.
Forest were held to a 2-2 stalemate by already-relegated Leicester on Sunday. After the final whistle, Marinakis marched straight toward Nuno on the field, with the pair caught up in what appeared to be a tense exchange.
Ex-Wolves manager Nuno appeared confused by the conversation as he tried to defuse his employer’s frustration. Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher weighed in on the situation, saying: “Get off the pitch.”
Gary Neville was similarly puzzled by Marinakis’ conduct. He said: “What the Forest owner has just done on the pitch over at the City Ground is absolutely scandalous. And if I was Nuno I’d be going and having a very strong word with him.”
Plenty of Forest supporters also took to Twitter to criticise Marinakis for his behaviour. One fan posted: “Marinakis is embarassing the club with that show. How quickly he forgets where they were last season. Should be applauding those players off the pitch, never mind stepping onto it to rant.”
Marinakis has adopted a ruthless stance on managerial appointments since arriving in the East Midlands in 2017. To date, seven coaches have taken charge of Forest under his tenure.
Forest had a dreadful beginning to the match after Conor Coady struck first at the City Ground. But they looked poised to re-enter the Champions League spots with goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood – the New Zealand striker netting his 20th league goal of the season.
However, Forest were denied all three points when on-loan Brighton midfielder Facundo Buonanotte equalised late on with a stunning finish. The draw leaves Forest in seventh place in the standings, one point behind the top five, with just two fixtures remaining.
While their Champions League dream suffered a major dent, Forest have at least guaranteed a return to European football next season. They visit West Ham at the London Stadium next, before what could prove a decisive encounter with Chelsea on the final day.
Speaking after the clash, midfielder Gibbs-White said: “We put ourselves in the best situation possible. But these last three or four games, it’s not been to our standard. Yes, we played good with the ball today but we can’t concede two goals like that today, we can’t.
“Especially with our form throughout the season and how we’ve been so good at taking the lead and seeing it out. It’s just frustrating, frustrating.”
Nafisa
