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• PGMOL to allow Nottingham Forest to hear VAR audio of rejected penalty claims

  Nottingham Forest will be given the opportunity to privately hear the VAR audio connected to three penalty claims in their match against Everton last Sunday.

  Forest called on Monday for the audio between Stuart Attwell and on-field official Anthony Taylor to be released publicly.

  Sources close to referees body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) insist it has nothing to hide and will give the club the opportunity to hear the audio in private, as it would any other club making a similar request.

  The PA news agency understands no decision has yet been taken on whether this audio would also feature in the next edition of ‘Match Officials Mic’d Up’, which will air next Tuesday evening.

  The audio related to a wrongly disallowed Luis Diaz goal for Liverpool at Tottenham earlier this season was released publicly, but in that instance there had been a serious communication error so the matter was treated differently.

  Forest have been contacted by PA regarding the offer to release the audio.

  The club have risked Football Association and Premier League sanction over their extraordinary response to the three rejected penalty appeals.

  The club said in a statement on Sunday they had “warned” PGMOL that VAR Stuart Attwell “was a Luton fan” but that PGMOL did not change the appointment.

  The Premier League said it was “extremely disappointed” by the statement, adding it was “never appropriate to improperly question the integrity of match officials”.

  The league said it was investigating the matter in relation to the league’s rules, with regulations B.15 and B.16 governing the requirement on clubs and their officials to behave with utmost good faith.

  Forest went on to release a further statement on Monday evening calling for the rules around referees’ allegiances to be updated to account for “contextual rivalries in the league table”.

  Referees do already declare allegiances and will not be assigned that team’s matches, or certain other fixtures such as those involving direct local rivals of that club. For instance, Michael Oliver has spoken in the past about he cannot referee Newcastle games because he is a fan.

  Other factors that determine appointments include which teams an official’s immediate family members support, as well as performance and the number of times they have officiated a particular team’s matches.

  PGMOL takes all of that into account and endeavours to make the best appointments possible when allocating six officials to each Premier League fixture from a pool of 70 to 75, while also fulfilling Championship refereeing appointments.

  Ultimately, it has confidence in the impartiality and professionalism of its officials.

  No club is believed to have ever questioned the process in the manner Forest have since the birth of the Premier League 32 years ago, and nor have the club raised any concerns in relation to the previous occasions when Attwell has been the VAR at their matches this season.

  English officials are clearly well thought of by UEFA, with eight included in the list for Euro 2024 this summer.

  Taylor will lead one of two English referee teams at Euro 2024, with Oliver leading the other. Attwell and David Coote have been named as VARs.

  Three Forest staff – manager Nuno Espirito Santo, full-back Neco Williams and referee analyst Mark Clattenburg – have been asked by the FA for observations on the comments they made about the officiating at Goodison Park.

• Waite, Gayle eye improvements as Tivoli, Waterhouse remain level in quarterfinal tie

  It is as you were between Tivoli Gardens and Waterhouse heading into the second-leg of their Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League quarter-final encounter, as they played out a 1-1 stalemate in first-leg action at Sabina Park on Monday.

  Javane Bryan, with his 15th goal of the season, gave Waterhouse the lead from a 44th-minute penalty, but substitute Lennox Russell replied for Tivoli Gardens in the 74th to ensure both teams remain level ahead of next Monday's decisive contest, at the same venue.

  Waterhouse's Head coach Marcel 'Fuzzy' Gayle was the happier of the two tacticians, having lost twice to Tivoli Gardens in the preliminary phase of the season.

  "We are grateful that we are still in it, so kudos to my team, I think we played well. We had an objective today and I think we met it the only disappointment is that we didn't keep a clean sheet because of that mistake and with our senior players on the park we should have done better in that moment.  So, we still can perform better and so we are going to put in the work for the next leg and go out there and play again," Gayle said in a post-match interview.

  "Tivoli is a quality team, they finished third which is a testament to their strength so we expected a close game, it did come down to fine margins and we know set plays can make a difference. So, it's something we have in our arsenal as we move forward," he added.

  It was a tentative start by both teams in the early exchanges as they moved the ball well but didn't really offer much in the attacking third at that point. In fact, it wasn't until in the 24th minute that Tivoli Gardens started to look more threatening in open play and even got the ball in the back of the net, only for it to be called back for a foul on Waterhouse's custodian Kemar Foster.

  

  Prior to that, the West Kingston team orchestrated a good build up play, which saw Anthony Nelson's header coming back off the crossbar, after he deflected Horatio Morgan's intended shot from an angle goalwards.

  At the other end, Nickoy Christian went close for Waterhouse with a 38th-minute freekick that was punched clear by Diego Haughton in goal for Tivoli Gardens. 

  The deadlock was eventually broken six minutes later when Bryan picked himself up and converted from the 12-yard spot, after he was felled by Nathan Thomas in the danger area, to put Waterhouse 1-0 up at the break. 

  Tivoli Gardens were more purposeful on the resumption, as the substitutions injected some tempo into their attacking thrust and they bossed possession and forced Waterhouse into a defensive posture. They again threatened in the 57th when Justin Dunn’s cross found Morgan, whose effort was charged down by a defender.

  However, they were back on level terms minutes later as substitute Rodico Wellington executed a cheeky freekick that eluded Waterhouse's custodian Foster, and another substitute Russell was well positioned to finish the rebound.

  From there, Tivoli Gardens went for the winner and should have had it in the 81st minute. This, as Nickalia Fuller's weighted cross found Wellington in space for a free header, but the once clinical player steered his effort wide of the target.

  Tivoli's Jerome Waite was pleased with his team's response after a lukewarm first half.

  "Put it this way, the first half we didn't play, and these players have to understand that attitude don't win game you have to come out and play. It was a different second half thanks to the substitutes, but we still have 90 more minutes to play so we just have to go back analyse what we need to do better and come out and do what we have to, to win the game," Waite shared.

• Mauricio Pochettino says Enzo Fernandez will be ‘much better’ next season

  Mauricio Pochettino believes it is unfair to compare the impact of Enzo Fernandez at Chelsea to that of Arsenal’s Declan Rice, as the teams prepare to face each other at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.

  England international Rice joined Mikel Arteta’s side from West Ham last summer for £100million, less than the £107m it cost to take World Cup winner Fernandez from Benfica to Stamford Bridge in January 2023.

  The fee for the Argentinian was a British record at the time, though the club have since surpassed it in signing fellow midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton for £115m.

  Rice has won plaudits for his transformational effect on Arsenal’s midfield, helping to forge a sturdier, more cohesive side than the one that fell away in the final weeks of last season’s Premier League title race.

  By contrast, Chelsea’s league position has not markedly improved in the 15 months since Fernandez arrived in west London, and despite clear flashes of his obvious talent and range of passing, question marks have remained over whether the club got value for money.

  However, his countryman Pochettino called for perspective on the obstacles that his player has had to contend with since arriving in England.

  “Declan Rice was playing for West Ham, an English guy who knows the Premier League, knows the language,” said the 52-year-old.

  “For Enzo, after the World Cup to arrive here, in a team that was inconsistent, difficult to get positive results, always it was really difficult.

  “In summer he was involved in too many games and he arrived late in pre-season, hasn’t had a holiday in the last two years.

  “Too many negative things happened. (It was) difficult for him to adapt, his family. It’s not easy to adapt and perform so quick.”

  Fernandez was responsible for creating Chelsea’s best chance of Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City, hitting an incisive, raking pass from deep that sent Nicolas Jackson through on goal, but the striker could not finish.

  He has scored three Premier League goals and made four assists since moving from Portugal in the immediate aftermath of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup triumph, but Pochettino insisted the best is yet to come from the 23-year-old.

  “For sure he is going to be much better next season, after the experience of the whole season in this squad and this team,” he said.

  “He’s more experienced, he gets better feelings. The whole season is good for him to learn. Even if he is a world champion, he needs to adapt to the Premier League and to this club. For me, there is no doubt that he is going to be much better.”

  Pochettino said there have been no discussions over the future of striker Romelu Lukaku, currently on a season-long loan at Roma, but appeared to hint that the door could be open for a return.

  The 30-year-old has scored 18 goals for the Serie A side this campaign after telling Chelsea last summer that he wanted to leave.

  “He’s a Chelsea player, so for sure we will pay attention,” said Pochettino. “It’s an option. But still we did not take any decision.”