Premier League release statement over 'nonsense' Nottingham Forest penalty decision vs Wolves

The Premier League have released a statement clarifying why Nottingham Forest were controversially denied a penalty in their clash against Wolves at Molineux.

Forest went into the break 2-0 ahead thanks to goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood.

But the scoreline could have been even greater had Nuno Espirito Santo's side been awarded a penalty for a perceived handball by Wolves full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri.

Ait-Nouri's arm appeared to be outstretched in the area as the ball struck it, but the Algeria international attempted to pull it back in at the same time.

VAR decided not to send referee Peter Bankes to the monitor and the penalty was not awarded.

Big penalty appeals from Nottingham Forest...

But VAR says no penalty 🎥❌ pic.twitter.com/MkXMrm2Wei

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 6, 2025

The Premier League have now explained the decision, posting to their official Match Centre Twitter account: "The referee's call of no penalty for a potential handball by Ait-Nouri was checked and confirmed by VAR, who deemed his arm was in a natural position."

Some supporters compared the decision to the one received against Manchester United in their 2-2 draw against Liverpool on Sunday, with Matthijs de Ligt penalised after the ball hit his outstretched arm.

On this occasion, though, the attacking team did not get the decision - though Forest still held a two-goal advantage at half-time at Molineux.

Nuno Espirito Santo's side will end the night in third place in the Premier League table should they pick up all three points in Wolverhampton and will be level on points with second-placed Arsenal, who dropped points with their 1-1 draw at Brighton on Saturday.

Chris Wood extended his goal tally to 12 for the Premier League season, calmly finishing the ball into the corner after a surging run down the left flank from the impressive Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Forest's opening goal was also the result of a well-worked move, with Anthony Elanga playing in Gibbs-White for the England international to unleash a first-time finish past Jose Sa in the Wolves goal.