Neco Williams has aimed a big dig at the officials after VAR intervened to rule out his goal against Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs picked up their first point of the season at the City Ground on Saturday, emerging with a hard-fought 0-0 draw.
Unsurprisingly, Nottingham Forest’s disallowed goal in the 65th minute of the game has been the topic of much dissection after the game.
A mix-up between Sandro Tonali and Jan Paul van Hecke allowed Williams to stoop in and head the ball right on the goal line as the Spurs midfielder attempted to clear the ball.
Neco Williams claims decision to rule out his goal against Tottenham was not ‘clear and obvious’
Replays showed that the Wales international had put his hands in front of his head, seemingly in an attempt to protect himself from being caught by Tonali’s foot.
The ball appeared to go into the back of the net off Williams’ hand rather than his head, with VAR thus stepping in and asking the referee to chop the goal off.
This has not gone down well with Williams, who suggested on social media that the referee had not made a clear and obvious mistake by allowing the goal.
The 25-year-old wrote on Instagram: “Clear and obvious, they say. Plenty of positives to build on.”
Oliver Glasner blasts VAR for disallowing Nottingham Forest’s goal
Some images clearly show that the ball hit Williams’ arm, which was in an unnatural position, before going into the back of the net.
However, Forest boss Oliver Glasner insists that replays were not conclusive and that VAR did not have enough evidence to chop off his side’s goal.
The Austrian said (via BBC Sport): “I watched five or six different angles and, to be fair, from one angle you can guess that the ball touched the arm because the shirt moves a little bit, but it’s not clear is it the ball or [Sandro] Tonali on the goalline. I think the VAR can’t intervene when he is guessing.
“It was not clear and obvious. We had a briefing before the season that the threshold for VAR intervention this year should be very high, which is why this is a wrong intervention. If it’s not 100% clear, stick to the on-field decisions. This is the inconsistency today. I told the referee after the game that I felt the goal should have stood.”