Nottingham Forest rejected the reports on an apparent confrontation between manager Nuno Espírito Santo and the owner of the Evangelos Marinakis club as “false news” in an update concerning the striker Taiwo Awoniyi.
Forest obtained European football for next season with a 2-2 draw against Leicester City on Sunday, but Facundo Buonanotte’s equalizer for the relegated Foxes offered the Nuno team a major blow in the race for football of the Champions League.
The draw left the forest a point at Fifth Placed Chelsea, who 2-0 in Newcastle United, with two games to play. The forest animator Chelsea on the city of the city on the last day of the season.
There was drama after the Buonanotte leveler when the striker Awoniyi collided with the base of the distant post while trying to connect with the crossing of Anthony Elaga of the right. His efforts were for nothing because the flag then went up for Elanga, Awoniyi, then receiving a long treatment before being authorized to continue. It was later revealed that Woking needs an emergency surgery on the injury.
Full -time, a furious marinakis stormed on the ground and sought to exchange heated words with Nuno. However, in a press release, Forest insisted that there was no confrontation between the owner and the manager, saying that any frustration of Marinakis was the result of the decision to allow Awoniyi to continue.
The press release said: “The Nottingham Forest may confirm that Taiwo Awoniyi is recovering until now after an urgent surgery on a serious abdominal injury suffered in the Sunday match against Leicester City.
“The severity of his injury is a powerful reminder of the physical risks in the game, and why the health and well-being of a player must always come first. In the Nottingham forest, this principle is not only a policy for us; It is not only the belief and conviction deeply of our owner.
“This is why he was so personally and emotionally invested in the situation that took place in the city of the city on Sunday.
– Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) May 13, 2025
“In moments like that, he demonstrates his leadership, not only through words, but by action and presence. In the last ten minutes of the game, when he has seen our player clearly in discomfort, struggling by visible pain, he has become increasingly difficult for him to stay away. The reflection of the quantity of this team and its inhabitants for him.
“The truth is that there was no confrontation, with nuno or with others, whether in the field or inside the stadium. There was only one frustration shared between us all that the medical team should never have allowed the player to continue.
“In light of this, we urge the old coaches and players, and other public figures of the game, to resist the urge to rush to the judgment and the false news online, especially when they do not have the facts and the context.
“In the Nottingham forest, we think that the mental and physical well-being of our players and coaches staff must always be deprived-on media stories, inflammatory judgments and certainly on self-promotion. In moments like these, the game must unite around those who put their body and mind on the line each week. This is what the real leadership looks like in our game. ”
Forest goes to West Ham on Sunday. If Aston Villa beat Tottenham on Friday or if Chelsea beat Manchester United the same evening and that Forest lost against West Ham, the Nuno team will be eliminated from the claims of the Champions League.
