Nottingham Forest may have been frustrated with the officiating in their 1-0 home loss to Fulham on Saturday, but former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher maintains that the decisions that went against them were correct.
Fulham secured the game-winning penalty early in the second half when Andreas Pereira was clipped and then pushed by Murillo. After referee Josh Smith was advised to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor, Raul Jimenez converted the penalty, ending Forest’s unbeaten run.
Several other incidents also went against Forest, including Anthony Elanga’s appeal for a penalty after a challenge by Calvin Bassey and Taiwo Awoniyi’s claim of being brought down in the Fulham box.
Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo expressed his frustration, saying, “We don’t want to talk about referees, but it was bad, wasn’t it?”
Gallagher disagreed and supported Smith’s decision to penalize Murillo. Speaking to Sky Sports’ Ref Watch, he said: “I think it’s a penalty. It’s difficult to argue when me and [pundit] Stephen [Warnock] often ask on a Monday, ‘Is it clear and obvious?’ Well, I think this one is. First, he steps on his heel, and second, he gives him a two-handed push in the back. The ball was going to drop for him to head, so for me, it’s clearly a penalty. If I were the VAR, I’d definitely send him to the monitor.”
Regarding the Bassey-Elanga incident, Gallagher added: “It’s a tough call. Bassey gets the ball, goes around, gets it again, and catches Elanga, but is it enough for him to go down like that? For me, that’s not a clear and obvious error, so I’d stick with the referee’s decision on the field.”
As for Awoniyi’s claims, Gallagher was doubtful: “Are you sure the forward actually kicked the ball? I wasn’t convinced, and judging by how quickly the game resumed, there wasn’t a huge expectation for a penalty at the time. It’s easier to scrutinize afterward.”
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