A reported eyewitness has issued a further update on Evangelos Marinakis and Nuno Espirito Santo’s on-pitch feud after Nottingham Forest’s 2-2 draw against Leicester City at the City Ground on Sunday (May 11).
Shortly after full time of the East Midlands derby on Sunday, Nottingham Forest owner Marinakis, 57, appeared to confront head coach Nuno, 51, following his side’s 2-2 draw against Leicester.
The draw saw Forest drop out of the Champions League qualification places to seventh.
Shortly after, the Greek released a statement via Instagram.
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Marinakis wrote: “Today is a day for celebration, because after 30 years, Nottingham Forest is now guaranteed to be competing on the European stage once again, a promise I made to our supporters when we achieved promotion!
"With two more games to go in the Premier League, we must keep believing and keep dreaming, right to the final kick in the final game.
“We are extremely proud and close to Nuno and the team, and we must celebrate the historic achievements of the season.
“Everybody, coaching staff, players, supporters and including myself - we were frustrated around the injury of Taiwo [Awoniyi] and the medical staff’s misjudgement of Taiwo’s ability to continue the game.
“This is natural, this is a demonstration of the passion we feel for our club.
“Let’s all be passionate, grateful, and keep on dreaming!”
Nuno also gave his take on the situation during an interview with Sky Sports.
“It was disappointing for everybody,” Nuno said. “Unfortunately, we had to play the last 10 minutes with one man less. Taiwo gave it a go, but it was too painful for him to really push and help the team. There was a misunderstanding between the coaching staff and the medical department. We had the heads up to make a sub, then Taiwo tried but he could not [run fully].
“[We feel] disappointment and frustration, of course. But it is because of the owner and his passion that we are growing as a club. He pushes us. He wants us to be better. It is his passion and desire to be a big club – 30,000 people felt the same today. For sure, many of them would go on the pitch and shake us down. Us as a club, we owe a lot to the Marinakis family.”
Now, a supposed eyewitness has told The Sun that tensions flared further as the pair walked through the tunnel.
The reports says that "the Greek businessman loses his rag once more with Nuno, before also venting his frustration at Awoniyi himself and the medical staff.
"Those who witnessed the incident felt it went far beyond what fans and TV cameras witnessed on the pitch".
Topics: Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espirito Santo, Premier League, Football, Leicester City
Luke Davies