'No confrontation' - Nottingham Forest hit out at 'fake news' over Evangelos Marinakis exchange with Nuno Espirito Santo
Published 13/05/2025 at 18:49 GMT+1
Nottingham Forest have released a lengthy club statement, in which they claim that "there was no confrontation" between manager Nuno Espirito Santo and owner Evangelos Marinakis. The Greek appeared animated when speaking to Nuno following the club's 2-2 Premier League draw with Leicester City, but Forest said that his reaction was due to "deep care" over the injured Taiwo Awoniyi.
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Nottingham Forest have denied that an on-pitch exchange between manager Nuno Espirito Santo and owner Evangelos Marinakis was a confrontation and hit out at "fake news" around the incident.
In a statement on the club's website, they said that the situation arose from frustration about striker Taiwo Awoniyi playing on after suffering a late injury in the 2-2 Premier League draw with Leicester City on Sunday.
The Nigeria international was required to have surgery on Monday night due to a serious abdominal injury.
"The truth of the matter is there was no confrontation, with Nuno or with others, either on the pitch or inside the stadium," the club said.
"There was only shared frustration between all of us that the medical team should never have allowed the player to continue.
"We urge former coaches and players, and other public figures in the game, to resist the urge to rush to judgement and fake news online, especially when they do not have the full facts and context."
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Forest said that Marinakis' reaction on the pitch at the City Ground was "one of deep care, responsibility, and emotional investment in one of our own."
"To Evangelos Marinakis, this isn’t just a football club — it’s family – and he instils that message in all of us," the club said.
"That is why he was so personally and emotionally invested in the situation that unfolded at the City Ground on Sunday. His reaction was one of deep care, responsibility, and emotional investment in one of our own. He didn’t just see it as an isolated incident, but as something that reflected the values and unity of the entire team."
Awoniyi collided with the post in the 88th minute of the game and received treatment on the pitch.
But due to Forest having used their three substition windows, the 27-year-old was forced to play on despite visibly struggling.
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Forest called Marinakis stepping on to the pitch an "instinctive" and "human" decision that demonstrated his leadership.
"In moments like that he demonstrates his leadership, not just through words, but through action and presence.
"In the final ten minutes of the game, when he saw our player clearly in discomfort, struggling through visible pain, it became increasingly difficult for him to stay on the sidelines.
"It was instinctive, human, and a reflection of just how much this team and its people mean to him. He would do the same again if such an unfortunate event were ever to reoccur."
Former Manchester United and England defender Gary Neville was among the high-profile figures to criticise Marinakis for his behaviour following the incident, calling it "scandalous."
He wrote on social media: "Nuno should go and negotiate his exit tonight with him! The Forest fans, players and manager do not deserve that."
Forest called the reaction and coverage of the situation "baseless and ill-informed outrage".
They added: "At Nottingham Forest, we believe the mental and physical well-being of our players and coaching staff must always take precedence — over media narratives, inflammatory judgements, and certainly over self-promotion."
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