Nottingham Forest make latest UEFA complaint after Europa League defeat as Ange Postecoglou faces crucial moment as head coach after worst start in 100 years

According to The Daily Mail,Delajod’s performance is at the heart of Forest’s outrage. Despite Midtjylland’s bruising, physical approach, the official showed just one yellow card to the Danish side, to wing-back Kevin Mbabu, while three Forest players were booked: Morato, Igor Jesus, and Morgan Gibbs-White.

A particularly reckless challenge by Denil Castillo on Elliot Anderson early in the contest summed up the inconsistency, with the Midtjylland midfielder somehow escaping with only a verbal warning. Forest sources say the stop-start nature of the officiating killed their rhythm and denied them the chance to build any attacking momentum.

The defeat has left Postecoglou’s position hanging by a thread. The Australian boss, who only took over in the summer, has endured a nightmare start to life in Nottingham, with no wins from his first six games in charge. This is the worst record by a Forest manager for over 100 years, since John Baynes went winless in any of his first seven games in 1925. 

Thursday’s loss marked yet another low point, with sections of the City Ground crowd turning on the manager by chanting “You’re getting sacked in the morning!”; a brutal soundtrack for a coach already fighting for survival. Fans also resurrected songs for former manager Nuno Espírito Santo, who was sacked only last month but has since resurfaced as West Ham boss.

Sunday’s clash with Newcastle could well determine Postecoglou’s fate. Club insiders admit that failure to end the winless run will almost certainly trigger a managerial change during the break. Forest’s owners are said to be “deeply concerned” about the team’s direction and fear that another loss could see morale sink even lower.