Nottingham Forest cause outrage after taking 39 minute round-trip flight to Blackpool for FA Cup tie

Nottingham Forest have caused outrage online after taking a 39-minute round-trip flight for their FA Cup clash against Blackpool.

Steve Cooper's side travelled to the Seaside town on Saturday for the third round match and were on the receiving end of a shock 4-1 thrashing.

Marvin Ekpiteta, Ian Poveda, CJ Hamilton and Jerry Yates were all on target for Blackpool, who are sitting 22nd in the Championship table.

Ryan Yates scored a last minute consolation for Forest, who also courted controversy for their mode of transport.

The East Midlands outfit have a partnership with E.ON, with the link-up established in order to "create a greener and more sustainable energy future by encouraging people to take action for climate".

And yet despite that, Forest flew in and out of Blackpool even though their team coach was spotted at the airport.

Twitter user @chai_ste vented over the decision to fly instead of go by coach, which would have be a 136 mile journey totalling around two and a half hours.

He uncovered that 5220 kg of CO2 was emitted on the chartered flight. Forest clearly travelled via plane for convenience more than anything but many felt it was an unnecessary waste of resources.

One fan wrote: "Absolutely disgusting. Should be ashamed of themselves. Horrible club."

Another said: "Unbelievable waste of the world’s resources to fly such a short distance."

A third opined: "It's a 2hr 38min drive. I wonder how much time they actually saved after the faff of checking in, disembarking etc?Also did their bags go by coach or plane as that would possibly add to the time if they had to transfer from plane to the coach?"

Journalist Mark Ogden commented: "This thread sums up how ridiculous football can be at times."

Another user weighed in: "I know I like planes but this is so irresponsible. Having coaches there to pick them up at Blackpool airport just takes the biscuit."

Spanish side Real Madrid were slammed recently for getting a 15 minute flight for an away game against Real Valladolid.

Commentator and pundit Alvaro Romeo fumed: "Last night Real Madrid took a plane to return from Valladolid. It was a 15 minutes flight. Then we talk about kits made with recycled materials, etc. What the hell?"

Similarly, Paris Saint-Germain also made 239 mile journey to Nantes by plane, when they could have got a two-hour high-speed train.

That prompted French politicians to demand the club "wake up" when it comes to climate change.

Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@gustavoscarpa10 & Twitter@chai_ste

Topics: Nottingham Forest, FA Cup

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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