Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has stated that he has “no regrets” about his actions after criticizing the “big mistakes” made by the video assistant referee (VAR).
In October, Marinakis received a five-game stadium ban for spitting on the floor as match officials passed him in the tunnel following Forest’s 1-0 Premier League loss to Fulham at the City Ground on September 28.
“We have seen things that are unbelievable and you need to have the courage and the power to stand by what you say and to be able to prove that what you say is correct,” Marinakis told Sky Sports News.
“This duty of responsibility towards the clubs is to make sure that there is justice. And when mistakes happen, to be able to rectify them is very important.
“This is something that I have no regrets [about] and it will continue to be the case.”
Forest were fined £750,000 by the Football Association for an “attack on the integrity of a match official on an unparalleled scale” following a social media post on X last season.
In the statement, the club alleged that VAR official Stuart Attwell was a supporter of Luton Town, who were also fighting relegation at the time. They also expressed dissatisfaction with three penalty decisions that went against them during their 2-0 defeat to relegation rivals Everton on April 21.
“Unfortunately, we have seen big mistakes take place with VAR,” Marinakis added.
“Being a human being, you are obliged to make mistakes, it’s natural to make mistakes, but when you see repeated mistakes from the same people, this is something that needs to be corrected, and needs to be corrected immediately.
“Authorities or organisations – the FA, the Premier League, Uefa, Fifa – they have a duty to all of us to rectify all this.”
Marinakis wants to work with Edu on ‘global project’
Greek billionaire Evangelos Marinakis finalized his purchase of Nottingham Forest in May 2017.
In addition to owning the Greek club Olympiakos since 2010, Marinakis expanded his portfolio in 2023 with the acquisition of Portuguese club Rio Ave.
At 57, Marinakis played a key role in financing Forest’s promotion from the Championship in the 2020-21 season and has continued to invest substantial amounts to help the club establish itself in the Premier League.
Off the pitch, Marinakis has been linked with bringing former Arsenal sporting director Edu, who resigned from his position on November 4, onto his team.
“I have a lot of respect for him [Edu],” Marinakis said.
“What I can say is that I would like to cooperate with him on a much bigger project, a global project. I’m optimistic that in case all this goes ahead, it will be another successful venture for both of us.
“I’m very optimistic about it, but we need to see how this will be developed and will be finalised, if and when time allows.”