NafisaNottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, after his side dropped further points in their pursuit of a top-four finish following a 2-2 draw with already-relegated Leicester City, stormed onto the pitch to berate manager Nuno Espirito Santo – and the Tricky Trees supremo has now broken his silence on the incident.
A draw at the City Ground, extending their winless streak to three Premier League matches, has significantly harmed the Garibaldi’s hopes of clinching Champions League football for the 2025/26 campaign. They currently lie seventh in the standings – on 62 points.
Although it’s all but guaranteed that Nottingham Forest will be representing England in Europe next season, emotions flared at full-time as Marinakis strode onto the grass and confronted Nuno. He has now disclosed the root of his irritation.
Forest Owner Reveals Root of Irritation:
It would be wrong to think Marinakis’ fury stemmed solely from the idea of squandering two points to a side already consigned to relegation to England’s second division after a string of dismal performances – but according to him, there was far more behind it.
Posting on Instagram after dropping more points, Marinas wrote: “Today is a day for celebration, because after thirty 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,” the 57-year-old boss continued.
After briefly outlining his support for Nuno and his staff, Marinakis stressed that his show of anger stemmed from Taiwo Awoniyi’s injury – and more critically, the medical team’s mishandling of the striker’s condition.
“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!”
Awoniyi, coming on for Ibrahim Sangare in the process, was introduced in the 83rd minute as the home side searched for a vital winner – and during a swift counterattack, he collided with the post and needed medical support.
For one reason or another, Nuno kept the Nigerian striker on the field – but he could only hobble about as his teammates pressed for a third goal, one that would’ve propelled them into fifth place in the Premier League standings, securing them a seat at Europe’s elite table.
Nuno, 50, consulted the medical staff to confirm he was fit to continue – and received the green light. Forest, still chasing another goal, made an additional substitution (Jota Silva for Elliot Anderson), meaning Awoniyi had to stay on the field and, ultimately, that hindered their hopes of grabbing a win in the match’s final moments.
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