'Precedent has to be set' - Sutton reacts after PL club punished over Everton controversy
Chris Sutton has offered his verdict on Nottingham Forest’s punishment after controversy in their showdown with Everton last season. The Toffees’ Premier League rivals were... The post 'Precedent has to be set' - Sutton reacts after PL club punished over Everton controversy appeared first on Goodison News.
Chris Sutton has offered his verdict on Nottingham Forest’s punishment after controversy in their showdown with Everton last season.
The Toffees’ Premier League rivals were handed a £750,000 fine by the FA after they accused VAR Stuart Attwell of being biased against Forest during their 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park last term [Dale Johnson, 11 October].
While Forest have suggested that the fine was harsh, BBC Sport pundit Sutton believes that the decision-makers had to set a precedent to stop clubs from attacking officials “willy-nilly”.
Speaking on It’s All Kicking Off (14 October, 41:10) he said: “I think that a precedent has to be set.
“Clubs can’t throw out tweets willy-nilly attacking officials and officiating and expect to get away with it. That’s my view.”
Why did Nottingham Forest get fined after their loss v Everton at Goodison Park?
As Sutton suggests, whether or not Forest’s punishment was too severe is almost by the by. With this fine, the Premier League and the FA are doing what they can to show clubs that this sort of behaviour won’t be tolerated.
On a smaller and less damaging scale, it isn’t dissimilar to what happened to the Toffees last term when they were handed an initial 12-point deduction for their first PSR breach.
It felt as though the decision-makers wanted to use Everton as an example and fire a warning to other teams.
Hopefully, every other team will have learned from Forest’s error and avoid making such statements after matches. Most pundits and fans agreed it was ridiculous at the time and that opinion is unlikely to have changed in recent weeks.
Sean Dyche and Everton fans will be hoping that is the end of all the controversy and punishments in and around Goodison Park.
The Toffees have had to deal with more than their fair share of point deductions and investigations over the last few years.
In other Everton news, a Seamus Coleman injury update emerged at Goodison Park during the international break
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The post 'Precedent has to be set' - Sutton reacts after PL club punished over Everton controversy appeared first on Goodison News.
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