Stuart Attwell, the official at the heart of Nottingham Forest’s frustrations with the refereeing body PGMOL following their defeat to Everton on Sunday, has been selected as one of two VARs from England for this summer’s European Championship.
“UEFA Euro 2024 is the pinnacle of European national team football with the best teams competing and that’s why we have selected the best referees to officiate these matches,” the governing body said in a statement on Tuesday.
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“All chosen referees have performed consistently to the highest standards in UEFA’s top competitions, and also in their domestic competitions. They have prepared exceptionally well to be in this position and we have full confidence in them to show their quality at the final tournament.”
Forest have written to the PGMOL to request the release of the VAR audio from Sunday’s Premier League match in which they had three penalty appeals denied.
The midlands club had criticised the PGMOL for not acting upon their concern that the VAR for Sunday’s defeat, Stuart Attwell, was a supporter of Luton Town — a club who, alongside Forest, are battling to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
Referee Anthony Taylor, who along with Michael Oliver has been selected as a referee for the Euros in Germany, declined to award penalties on three separate occasions, the most notable of which occurred in the second half when Forest winger Callum Hudson-Odoi appeared to be brought down by Everton defender Ashley Young.
“Nottingham Forest has today submitted a formal request to the PGMOL to release into the public domain the audio recordings between officials during yesterday’s match against Everton at Goodison Park,” Forest said in a statement on Monday.
“The club has requested this be shared for three key match incidents — Ashley Young’s challenge on Giovanni Reyna (24th minute), Ashley Young’s handball (44th minute) and Ashley Young’s challenge on Callum Hudson-Odoi (56th minute).
“We firmly advocate for the broader football community and supporters to have access to the audio and transcript for full transparency, ensuring the integrity of our sport is upheld.”
The Premier League have issued a statement in which they express “extreme disappointment” at Forest’s protestations following the match, and have confirmed they will be “investigating the matter in relation to the League’s Rules.”
The Football Association confirmed on Monday it would investigate the nature of Nottingham Forest’s initial tweet, as well as comments made by manager Nuno Espirito Santo and defender Neco Williams.
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg, who is employed by Forest as a consultant, has also been asked to explain the contents of a newspaper article he wrote on the officiating.
The selected referees, referee assistant teams, VARs and support match officials will be in charge of the 51 matches at Euro 2024.
Eight English officials have been selected by UEFA from PGMOL’s Select Group for this summer’s Euros.
Referees Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor, assistant referees Gary Beswick, Stuart Burt, Dan Cook and Adam Nunn as well as Stuart Attwell and David Coote, who will act as video assistant referees, are part of an elite group chosen for the major tournament.
Their selections mean England will have the joint-highest number of refereeing teams at the tournament and only second to host nation Germany in terms of VARs included in the list.
It is the second consecutive Euros and third international tournament in a row for Oliver and Taylor, who were also chosen as part of an elite group of officials for the 2022 World Cup — only one of four nations to have two referees at the tournament.
