Why Nottingham Forest has grounds to sue Gary Neville and Sky Sports.

Neville’s’mafia gang’ dig at Forest’s social media remark could get him and his employer in trouble.

Nottingham Forest are reportedly considering suing Sky Sports after main pundit Gary Neville compared their statement criticising referee Stuart Attwell to anything from a “mafia gang”.

Meanwhile, the Premier League is looking into Forest’s comments and could issue fines soon.

Following Forest’s 2-0 defeat to Everton on Sunday, the club stated: “Three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept.

“We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn’t change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times. NFFC will now consider its options.”

Neville then blasted the outburst on broadcast. But were his words strong enough to warrant a judicial case?

i spoke with sports lawyer Yasin Patel of Church Court Chambers about Neville, potential fines for Forest, and the club’s next steps.

Why Nottingham Forest might sue Sky Sports

After Forest’s contentious social media post, Neville told Sky Sports: “It’s like a mafia gang statement. I mean, honestly, what the hell are they playing at?

“It’s like a petulant child, it’s embarrassing. And some of those things they’re saying in there, the suggestion of some sort of inferring of cheating because there’s an official in VAR in Stockley Park who’s a Luton fan is a scandal, and they will pay for that.”

According to The Daily Mail, the club is drafting a legal letter to Sky Sports, and Patel adds that if legal action is taken, they will have a strong case. “Forest can go for libel in terms of what’s been said, they can go for damaging reputation.

“Do I think they will? No. The club name has been damaged – they’ve been said to be akin to the biggest criminals out there.

“They could ultimately say to [Neville], withdraw this otherwise we’re going to trial, because we’re not criminals. We’re not doing anything that’s linked to criminality, etc. All we’re doing is questioning the honesty of another party.

“They can go to the High Court in relation to damages. Do I think they will? No. Ultimately, Sky Sports might ask him to retract the comments.”

There is also an underlying tension here due to criminal charges against Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, a Greek shipping magnate.

Marinakis has been implicated and investigated as part of an ongoing Greek prosecution involving a vessel captured in the port of Piraeus in 2014 with 2.1 tonnes of heroin.

He has fiercely denied any involvement and has not been legally charged, claiming on his website that “the Noor 1 case is about politics, not the rule of law,” but this study adds context to Neville’s remarks.

How can the Premier League punish Forest?

The Premier League has stated that it is investigating Forest following their statement, and referees’ boss Howard Webb is set to meet with the club this week for peace talks.

Historically, the league has punished managers who challenge referees’ integrity; Vincent Kompany recently earned a two-game touchline ban and a £10,000 fine for calling Darren England “a f**king cheat”.

Forest has already been docked four points this season for violating the Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), and there is talk of more reductions for their statement.

However, Patel does not believe this would be the case: “Forest could bring their club in to massive disrepute with regards to the comments they’ve made, they could bring the game into disrepute.

“The Premier League could bring charges in terms of questioning the integrity of officials. They could bring further charges in relation to the spirit of the game and how that has been damaged.

“Forest will get punished for bringing the game into disrepute, but they won’t get a points deduction on the back of this. I don’t think the Premier League or Forest want another battle like that.

“If they were to, that would end up in court, I can guarantee. But there will likely be fines for the club with regards to comments made in an official capacity.”

Forest’s Next Steps in Refereeing Row

A lot of the questions now will be around what Forest should do next.

They have had their request to hear the VAR footage granted, albeit only privately, but there is limited precedence for what they may do if they do not like what they hear.

Patel analysed the plausibility of two of the more extreme options for Forest to pursue: demanding a replay and suing the Premier League. “Well, it’s not as if replays haven’t been done from VAR mistakes – we’ve seen in Europe this year [Anderlecht vs Genk in Belgium].

“If they are about to set precedents, why can’t they ask for that? Particularly if mistakes like this cost them points and ultimately might cost them Premier League survival by a point or two and hundreds of millions of pounds.

“As to suing the Premier League. Well, who’s done that up to now and who is going to? I don’t think they are going to in relation to this. But with a whole combination of matters where there’s errors on several fronts, then there might be on the argument they’ve been treated unfairly.”

However, the most practical option is to request an apology from Neville and be penalised by the Premier League with a large fine. Forest has almost no recourse other than to file litigation, which are unlikely to succeed.

What’s been said since the weekend?

So far, Neville has stood firm in his convictions. Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast on Wednesday, he stated that he will not be covering Forest’s game against Manchester City on Sunday, but will instead attend Tottenham’s north London derby against Arsenal.

He said,  “If you’re the leader of [Forest], since Mark Clattenburg came in [as refereeing consultant], in the last 10 games they’ve won one match. In the 10 games before, they won four.

“You never give football players or employees a get-out excuse ever. He’s given them an excuse to not win. Now that might sound crazy, but when you put that negativity in, Neco Williams, he’s probably a really good player, he’s coming out on Sunday and he’s talking about referees.

“They’re all consumed about referees, and they’ve given themselves an excuse, everyone’s against us. It’s not working for them this strategy or the way in which it’s going.”

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