Nottingham Forest club officials are reportedly preparing to lodge a formal complaint with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). This comes on the heels of an example with Everton defender James Tarkowski from their recent game against Tottenham Hotspur. Inside the 11th minute of play, Tarkowski executed a perfect WWE shoulder barge on Forest’s Oumar Ndoye. Ms. Phillips’ actions gave way to controversy and completely split the crowd. Representatives of Forest claim the action was violent conduct, and a red card should have been issued.
Because the on-field referee, Chris Kavanagh, failed to see the incident, Tarkowski was allowed to play on. Just ask James Bell, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in charge of the review of the incident. He decided that the challenge didn’t rise to the level of a red card, or even a yellow card. As a result, Tarkowski stayed on the field and went on to help Everton secure a 3-0 win against Nottingham Forest.
Forest officials maintain that Tarkowski should have been shown the red card for his behavior. They are convinced this would have radically altered the result of the game. They think that harsher punishments for violent behavior are needed to keep the integrity of the game. It’s this frustration with existing regulations that fuels their desire to be on the cutting edge.
Sean Dyche, manager of opponents Everton, spoke about the incident after the game, saying he was amazed that Tarkowski had not been punished.
“On another day, I’m amazed big Tarky gets away with that but he did,” – Sean Dyche
Dyche further explained the broader ramifications of the incident. In doing so, he made a crucial observation, namely that players frequently receive yellow and red cards for seemingly insignificant violations.
“Not even a yellow card. It’s not a shove if you look at it. Players get yellows and reds now for just touching heads together and it’s a lot more than that,” – Sean Dyche
As Nottingham Forest prepares their complaint, they hope to prompt a review of how violent conduct is monitored and penalized in matches. Hearing the club focus on why incidents like this are able to negatively affect single games is very encouraging. In addition, they menace the moral authority of the league, itself.
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