Mark Clattenberg vows to go to PGMOL after Liverpool referee decision

Nottingham Forest 'referee analyst' Mark Clattenberg has expressed the club's outrage after supposedly shoddy officiating led to Darwin Nunez's late winner in yesterday's contest with Liverpool.

During the crucial final moments in the game, Forest were in a dangerous position when Paul Tierney paused play for a head injury to Ibrahima Konate.

Upon Konate's recovery, Tierney decided that Reds keeper Caoimhin Kelleher should restart the game with an uncontested drop ball - despite the fact it was the home side that were in possession of the ball when the whistle was blown.

From that, Liverpool went up the other end to score a dramatic 99th minute winner, with Darwin Nunez heading home to send the City Ground away end into bedlam.

Dumfounded by the decision of his former refereeing colleague, Clattenberg has vowed to take the issue to PGMOL, feeling his new employers were robbed of a potentially vital point in their fight for survival.

Speaking on the Tierney's call, Clattenberg told BBC 5 Live: "If the referee is to stop the game for a head injury if he feels there is one. He’s rightly allowed to stop it. However, the ball has to go back to the team that has possession. And Nottingham Forest clearly had that possession.

"He did exactly the same in the first half however it was a different situation. The ball was closer to the penalty area and the Nottingham Forest was towards the corner flag. Nottingham Forest should have had the ball back. Instead, Liverpool have gone upfield and scored from it.

"I haven’t spoken to the referee. I haven’t gone in to see Paul. He wouldn’t allow me in. I’ll leave that to the officials from Nottingham Forest to do.

"We’ll be speaking with the PGMOL and the Premier League and we’ll discuss the correct course of action in the near future.

“I’ll advise them what to say - we talked about the incident. Everybody’s upset. They fought hard all game and when you lose a game like that people are frustrated.

"The owner’s quite upset because he has invested a lot of money in the football club and he wants to see results, he feels that another decision has gone against the club and quite rightly he’s upset."

BBC commentator Ian Dennis weighed in on the debate, hitting back at the notion that Forest directly conceded from Tierney's decision to give Liverpool possession.

He said "I can understand the Forest frustration but their 'Referee Analyst' is incorrect to say Liverpool 'have gone on the attack and scored from it'.

"It was around two minutes and Forest had two or three chances to clear. The fall out of Forest’s fury with owner Marinakis in the tunnel will continue."

That said, Clattenberg was far from the only notable figure left disputing the officiating in yesterday's contest.

Match of the Day duo Alan Shearer and Jermaine Jenas are the latest to  Paul Tierney's part to play in Liverpool's controversial late winner.

"He’s dropped a big clanger, Paul Tierney," Shearer said

"He's got it totally wrong, it’s a corner to forest late on and Konate gets a head injury. He gets knocked down by his goalkeeper, Kelleher. Paul Tierney doesn't blow [straight away], Hudson-Odoi has the ball and then the referee blows because it's a head injury.

"What he does is he then gives the ball unchallenged to the goalkeeper, which is totally wrong and should be a Forest unchallenged drop-ball out on the wing where the ball was stopped.

"I get the point of the goal being one minute and 50 seconds later, the point is valid, but if you drop it where Forest should have had it, everything changes. Liverpool don't get the corner and the goal changes."

Echoing Shearer's sentiment, Jenas added: "Yeah I mean, I think it's a really shocking decision.

"The time thing is valid, the game is completely different at that particular point, time added on, Forest have got Liverpool under pressure, Hudson-Odoi might get another corner or another shot on goal.

"To release that pressure at that moment in the game is massive. It's a big one for Forest to have to take and move on from."