FA lose legal battle with Forest

Once again the game's governing body has been made to look foolish.

The FA will be forced to pay Nottingham Forest hundreds of thousands of pounds after losing a landmark legal battle with the Premier League club.

Forest faced disciplinary proceedings after a 2-0 defeat by Everton in April last year — a game that included three disputed penalty appeals — having posting on X that they had warned referee chiefs that the VAR in the game, Stuart Attwell, was a fan of relegation rivals Luton Town.

But Forest then complained that the barrister appointed to chair the disciplinary panel had been “biased” against them after the club questioned the £1million fine being sought by the FA. Graeme McPherson KC had said at that hearing that he rejected “the club’s somewhat hysterical submission”.

To the embarrassment of the FA, lawyers have now found that McPherson’s comment could be viewed as an “unjustified, inappropriate, and personal attack on the club” after they were eventually fined £750,000 for the controversial tweet.

Forest had been charged with bringing the game into disrepute thanks to a post that was viewed nearly 40 million times, with McPherson appointed the chair of the FA panel which made the preliminary decision.

When Forest then launched an appeal against the fine, McPherson was selected by the FA to chair the appeal. However, Forest objected to that appointment because of his previous comments. In the end McPherson recused himself, citing “pre-existing commitments”.

However, in October Forest were then fined £125,000 for their part in a mass confrontation with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with their opponents also fined £40,000.  Forest appealed against that decision too, with McPherson once again named as the chair of the disciplinary panel.  The club argued that his appointment was inappropriate because of the “hysterical” comment and sought an arbitration hearing to resolve the matter.

The FA has not yet commented on the situation but a new chair of the panel for the appeal will now have to be appointed, with the FA footing the legal bill. It will have to pay the cost of the tribunal, which was £105,750 plus VAT, and both its own and Forest’s legal costs.