Nottingham Forest request to be granted as PGMOL chief Howard Webb prepares response

Nottingham Forest had asked PGMOL to hand over referee and VAR audio during the controversial aftermath of Sunday’s loss to Everton

Nottingham Forest will reportedly be granted their wish and receive the match officials’ audio from Sunday’s match against Everton, whilst PGMOL chief Howard Webb prepares to address refereeing matters on next week’s Mic’d Up programme.

As part of their efforts to double down on comments made regarding the integrity of officiating in the Premier League, Forest requested that the governing body that make appointments to top-flight fixtures hand over the audio of discussions between referee Anthony Taylor and VAR Stuart Atwell that led to the three penalty decisions landing in the Toffees’ favour. Simultaneously, they asked for rules regarding referee allegiances to be reviewed.

It came as both the Premier League and Football Association opened investigations into the controversial statements publicly made by the club itself, manager Nuno Espirito Santo, defender Neco Williams and advisor Mark Clattenburg.

They are not the first club to do so, as Liverpool requested access to the officials’ audio of events that led to a legitimate goal being disallowed during their loss to Tottenham. In this instance though, Forest are believed to be unhappy with Forest’s conduct questioning Atwell’s integrity in recent days so it was unclear if the request would be granted.

But now, the Mail online report that PGMOL are prepared to privately hand over the audio as the club assess their options.