Explained: Why VAR audio from controversial Everton vs Nottingham Forest clash will not be made public

Forest were left furious after their 2-0 Premier League defeat to the Toffees due to three separate incidents which they believe should have led to a penalty being awarded. The club issued an extraordinary statement on social media after the game criticising the "extremely poor decisions" and claiming they had "warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan" ahead of kick-off. Forest also asked for the VAR audio to be released and expect the PGMOL to accept the request but it will not be made public, according to The Times.

VAR audio was previously made public after Luis Diaz's goal for Liverpool was wrongly disallowed for offside against Tottenham in September. However, in that incident the decision was made due to a "factual communication error" but this has not been the case with Forest and the three penalty calls in question. There is a possibility that the audio could still be made public if it is used in the Match Officials Mic’d Up programme which features Howard Webb reviewing contentious decisions.

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo backed the club's decision to issue a statement after the match. He told reporters: "Yes I share the view because I saw the images. When we go back to the dressing room, we have access to the images and you can see it so clearly and you don’t understand why the decisions were against us.

“I think the situation with Gio Reyna in the first half is a clear one, the handball we can ask if it’s not but the ball goes to Chris Wood and there is another incident with Ashley Young. I share the feeling of the club because it’s not only this game, it’s been a while that we’ve had poor decisions against us. It’s not an excuse but we are not comfortable with the work of the referees.”

The Premier League is set to investigate Nottingham Forest's post-match statement and could potentially punish the club. Meanwhile, the Tricky Trees are considering suing Sky Sports and pundit Gary Neville after the former Manchester United star likened the club's response to the controversy to a 'mafia gang'.