'Scandalous from the owner!' - Gary Neville tells Nuno Espirito Santo to quit Nottingham Forest after Evangelos Marinakis storms onto pitch and lets fly at manager

The Reds suffered another setback in their bid to secure a top-five finish and Champions League qualification when being held to a 2-2 draw at the City Ground by East Midlands neighbours Leicester.

Forest have now dropped points in their last three home fixtures, with wobbles being endured at the worst possible time. They are, however, assured of a top-seven standing and European qualification for 2025-26.

Emotions were running high on Trentside at the end of another nervy contest, with Marinakis taking to leaving his seat in the stands and heading down to the field. Rather than thrashing things out with Nuno behind the scenes, the colourful Greek entered into a heated debate on the pitch.

Gary Neville, while on commentary duty for Sky Sports, said of Marinakis’ antics: “I feel compelled to mention that I think what the Forest owner has just done on the pitch over at the City Ground is absolutely scandalous.

“If I was Nuno, I'd be going and having a very strong word with him, because that is an absolute scandal. He's just qualified them for a European competition, and from where that club's been, and to be remonstrated with on that pitch in front of the club's fans is an absolute joke.”

The former Manchester United defender also posted on social media: “Scandalous from that Forest owner. Nuno should go and negotiate his exit tonight with him! The Forest fans, players and manager do not deserve that.”

Nuno played down the incident afterwards, claiming the exchange was due to uncertainty regarding an injury suffered by Taiwo Awoniyi that left Forest with 10 men on the field while pushing for a winner. The Portuguese said: “Yes, it was because of that. It was a misunderstanding, a miscommunication. I’m sorry, I cannot go much further. It’s based on emotions, you cannot make a big deal out of it. It happens and it will happen again. With the emotions today, it’s understandable.”

Marinakis has invested big money at Forest and is a regular at the City Ground. He is expected to spend again this summer, especially with continental football on the agenda, and there appears to be little threat of Nuno leaving his managerial post.