Yates went down to the turf, and the incident was subject to a brief VAR check, but referee Simon Hooper took no action other than taking the two players involved to one side for a discussion that ended with a handshake. Keane is unconvinced that he was actually in any pain at all. “He goes down far too easily. For such a decent lad he needs to cut that out of his game.”

Inevitably, Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo did not share that viewpoint and instead shared a contrasting sentiment. Pressed for comment on the situation, he explained: “It doesn’t look like he punched him, he punched him. I saw the image and that is why I speak to you. “I was surprised that VAR didn’t tell Simon to review it better because honestly with all my respects, Maddison loses his composure and it is a punch in the stomach of Yates.

It should have been reviewed and a different decision. It is not a shirt with players that looks like nothing happens, no. No, it’s without the ball. “So, there are two moments we mention (Chris Wood’s miss) in the first half that can change the game.

I didn’t ask (Hooper), but I saw it. There is no problem in telling I didn’t see it the same way. We didn’t agree, me and VAR.” Defeat for Forest means they have missed out on the chance to put some daylight between themselves and relegation rivals Luton.

As things stand, Nuno’s side are out of the relegation zone in 17th, but only sit above the Hatters on goal difference. Forest have got six games left to play before the season’s end and within that period they play three of the sides around them in the bottom five. *Join our new WhatsApp community* *and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.

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