Steve Cooper confirms referee conversation following controversial moment in Nottingham Forest’s defeat to Bournemouth

Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has revealed he received an apology after his side were not awarded a penalty in the first-half of their 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth.

Steve Cooper: “Big decision by the referee and the linesman who’ve just pulled me in to apologise. They’ve owned up to a huge error”

Hear the full interview with the #nffc Head Coach after Forest's defeat at Bournemouth https://t.co/e9Q8BjDijO

— BBC Nottingham Sport (@BBCRNS) May 3, 2022

Keeper Mark Travers appeared to clip the heels of Sam Surridge but the flag was raised, meaning the referee went back to that.

However, replays showed the Reds striker was actually onside, so Forest would’ve likely had a penalty had this been a Premier League fixture where VAR is in use.

That’s not the case though, so nothing could be done, with the Cherries then going on to seal the points, and promotion, thanks to a Kieffer Moore goal late on.

Whilst Forest were poor after the break, the decision was undoubtedly a turning point in the game and Cooper told BBC Nottingham that he spoke to Stuart Attwell after the game, where the officials admitted they made a mistake.

“Big decision by the referee and the linesman who’ve just pulled me in to apologise. They’ve owned up to a huge error.”

Forest’s attention now turns to the play-offs, although they have one final game to play in the regular season, which is away to Hull City.

The verdict

You have to feel huge sympathy for Forest here because they were the more dangerous side in the first 45 minutes but they didn’t get rewarded for that with the failure to give the penalty.

It is a close call in fairness, but it’s a decision that they need to get right and it shows why VAR is used in the big leagues.

But, it’s not to be