Nottingham Forest owner chases referee following late loss to Liverpool

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In the aftermath of Liverpool's dramatic, late win over Nottingham Forest, the owner of the East Midlands side, Evangelos Marinakis, reportedly had to be restrained by security personnel as he chased referee Paul Tierney down the tunnel following the Reds' late winner.

Substitute Darwin Nunez scored the crucial goal to help Liverpool secure all three points in the ninth minute of added time. However, Forest's frustrations boiled over as a result of the circumstances leading up to the goal.

Earlier in the passage of play, Tierney had halted play during a Forest attacking move due to a head injury sustained by Ibrahima Konate. Upon the restart, with an uncontested drop ball for Liverpool, the visitors swiftly progressed up the pitch, ultimately finding the back of the net courtesy of Nunez's header from an Alexis Mac Allister cross.

The decision to award Liverpool possession and allow play to resume incited fury among Forest players and coaching staff. Tempers flared on the sidelines, with Forest coach Steven Reid receiving a red card and substitute Felipe getting yellow from Tierney amid a flurry of protests.

The winning goal also occurred after more than the allocated eight minutes.

A 'lack of respect'

BBC Radio Five Live reporter Rob Schofield (as reported in the Mirror) described the chaotic scenes unfolding in the tunnel post-match. Marinakis, accompanied by Reid, pursued Tierney and fourth official Graham Scott, vehemently expressing their discontent and demanding respect for the players.

"You rarely see scenes like that in the tunnel," he said. "We saw Steven Reid getting frustrated. He and the Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis pursued referee Paul Tierney and fourth official Graham Scott all the way to referee's office yelling at them 'Respect the players! Respect the players! This happens every week! Respect the players!' "

"Furious scenes"

"Marinakis had to be removed by security at one stage," Schofield added. "The Forest players were furious, [Forest manager] Nuno [Espirito Santo] looked absolutely crestfallen. Jurgen Klopp stormed past me, saying he doesn't know why he's getting so much flak. It really was all kicking off down here. Furious scenes."

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