Commentary from Howard Webb on Everton against Nottingham Forest is still being shared.

Regarding Stuart Attwell, Alan Nixon has disclosed what Howard Webb may have stated. This is relevant to the ongoing Everton vs Nottingham Forest debate.

Forest took issue with Attwell’s selection as VAR for Sunday’s (April 21) contentious 2-0 victory over the Toffees at Goodison Park.

The Luton Town supporter Attwell was one of the match officials, something Webb was supposedly not aware of, and this infuriated the Reds.

Journalist Nixon stated following on his X account on April 23: “Webb apparently said he didn’t know Attwell was a Luton fan… when clearly he has to know.”

After losing to Everton, Nottingham Forest is still furious.
Attwell has officiated games since 2007, however he has never once officiated a Luton Town game, as Nixon also noted on social media.

It is evident that he has been prevented from officiating the Hatters, which is understandable considering his persuasiveness.

It seems strange, though, to criticize PGMOL for assigning Attwell to VAR responsibilities for this game. Where precisely do you draw the line, after all?

There are only so many officials, and there will be different combinations every weekend. As a result, Attwell was barred from playing in matches against Luton, Everton, Forest, or any other lower-tier teams.

In the end, surely Luton would have done better this past weekend with a draw? As it stands, Everton won all three points and Forest’s three strong penalty appeals were turned down.

Even though the Merseyside derby is only a day away, this story won’t be going away anytime soon.