Nottingham Forest have addressed the widely discussed incident involving club owner Evangelos Marinakis and manager Nuno Espirito Santo following Sunday’s 2-2 Premier League draw with Leicester City, stating that both parties were united in frustration over the handling of striker Taiwo Awoniyi’s injury.
The club revealed that Marinakis’ animated discussion with Nuno post-match stemmed from shared concern that Awoniyi, who sustained an injury in the 88th minute, should not have been allowed to continue playing.
The Nigerian forward required “urgent” abdominal surgery on Monday night.
“There was no confrontation, with Nuno or with others, either on the pitch or inside the stadium,” Forest clarified. “There was only shared frustration between all of us that the medical team should never have allowed the player to continue.”
Awoniyi, 27, was injured after colliding with the goalpost while attempting to reach a cross from Anthony Elanga.
Despite receiving treatment on the pitch and visibly struggling, he remained in the game as Forest had already used all three substitution windows.
Forest explained that Marinakis’ decision to step onto the pitch was a spontaneous act driven by emotion and care for his player.
“To Evangelos Marinakis, this isn’t just a football club – it’s family – and he instils that message in all of us,” the club stated. “In moments like that he demonstrates his leadership, not just through words, but through action and presence. In the final 10 minutes of the game, when he saw our player clearly in discomfort, struggling through visible pain, it became increasingly difficult for him to stay on the sidelines.”
While some pundits criticized Marinakis’ actions, Gary Neville calling it an “absolute joke” and Danny Murphy saying it was “not a great look”, others offered a more measured perspective. Chris Sutton, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club, noted: “I was at the match. I think there was a real overreaction in the way people viewed this. It was because of a misunderstanding between the medical team over Awoniyi. The anger came because Marinakis cared – this wasn’t aimed at Nuno.”
Forest pushed back at what it called misrepresentation and sensationalism in some media coverage.
“In light of this, we urge former coaches and players, and other public figures in the game, to resist the urge to rush to judgement and fake news online, especially when they do not have the full facts and context,” their statement read. “Baseless and ill-informed outrage for the purposes of personal social media traction serves no one – least of all the injured player.”
The club confirmed Awoniyi is “recovering well” following surgery and reiterated that player well-being is at the heart of their values.
“At Nottingham Forest, we believe the mental and physical well-being of our players and coaching staff must always take precedence – over media narratives, inflammatory judgements, and certainly over self-promotion. In moments like these, the game must unite around those who put their bodies and minds on the line every week. That’s what real leadership looks like in our game.”