Richard Keys makes 'joke' Nottingham Forest remark as he takes swipe

Latest Nottingham Forest news from NottinghamshireLive as Richard Keys delivers his verdict on City Ground controversy

Richard Keys has criticised the penalty decision against Nottingham Forest in their defeat to Fulham.

Nuno’s Reds lost 1-0 to Fulham in the Premier League at the City Ground on Saturday, Raul Jimenez scoring from the penalty spot after Forest defender Murillo was controversially adjudged to have fouled Andreas Pereira in the box. Referee Josh Smith had gone over to his monitor to review the challenge following a VAR check and pointed to the spot.

Forest are said to be angry over the latest contentious decision and once again questioning the standard of refereeing. And writing in his blog, pundit Keys said: “I’ve nothing but sympathy with Forest’s belief that the poor standard of refereeing is blighting the game.

“What a joke that pen award was at The City Ground. Whatever happened to ‘the referee’s call’? Remember? It was point 1 in a six point review conducted by Howard Webb - more on-field decisions and less VAR intervention. Can’t help themselves can they?”

Speaking after the match, Nuno said: “We all want peace and for things to continue well, to not have to speak about the referees. But it was bad, wasn’t it?

“In Fulham’s box, we had the situations with T (Taiwo Awoniyi) and Anthony (Elanga). They checked and looked, but they don’t have the same opinion we do. We just have to hope that for the next one we are not talking about referees.

“Let’s try to avoid (talking about officials) and give the referees peace. I think they are trying to improve, but today was not the best day.

“We don’t want to talk about it (referee decisions). Nobody wants to talk about it. When we come to the game, we don’t think about the ref, we just want to compete and play the game and hope the referee gets things right. But today he didn’t do a good job, so let’s hope he improves - like we have to do also. We didn’t play a good game so we have to improve.”

Do you think Forest have been unfairly treated? Click HERE to have your say

Get breaking Forest news sent direct to your phone

Join our Nottingham Forest WhatsApp group and get the latest breaking news, interviews and opinion sent straight to your phone, plus matchday team news and live updates of all the action. Just click here and select ‘Join Community’ to get started. The only proviso is that you must have WhatsApp on your phone to participate. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from the NottinghamshireLive Reds writers.

We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Reds stories. If you later decide to opt out, just go to the name at the top of your screen and click 'Exit Group'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you are curious, you can click here to read our Privacy Notice.