Fifa expert is stunned as Forest’s Chris Wood ‘heads over to fans’ and is punished
Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood was unfortunate to be yellow carded in a bizarre incident while on international duty with New Zealand, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the referee should have focused on the game rather than worrying about the striker’s interactions with the crowd.
Wood has been enjoying an excellent season with Nottingham Forest, as Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side mount a push for Champions League qualification.
Over the international break, the striker maintained that form with New Zealand, albeit he did also find himself in trouble for one unexpected reason.
Chris Wood booked for signing autographs
On Friday (21 March), New Zealand took on Fiji at the semi final stages of their qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
The All Whites enjoyed a dominant win, which saw Wood score a hat-trick, netting his third goal on the hour-mark.
| Chris Wood for Nottingham Forest in 2024/25 | Total (as per Transfermarkt) |
| Appearances | 32 |
| Goals | 18 |
| Assists | 3 |
| Yellow Cards | 1 |
| Red Cards | 0 |
Having secured the match ball, the Nottingham Forest striker was then substituted just moments later, although that was not the end of his night’s work.
While the game was still ongoing, Wood headed into the stands to interact with the home New Zealand supporters at Eden Park.
That though did not go down well with the referee who brought the 33-year-old back onto the pitch in order to issue him with a yellow card, something Hackett has criticised.
Keith Hackett reacts after Nottingham Forest star gets New Zealand yellow card
After being asked by Football Insider what he made of that yellow card given to Wood for signing autographs, Hackett said:
“I think harsh, and frankly unnecessary. Why doesn’t the referee just concentrate on officiating the match in the middle?
“I guess this has been brought to the attention of the fourth official, if there is any risk of a crowd surge or to security, the stewards would have intervened, and they’re not intervening.
“He (Wood) is without a shadow of a doubt one of the top Premier League players at this moment in time, has been in my opinion a terrific almost old-fashioned centre-forward.
“So we enjoy everything he does in this country and New Zealand fans do watch Premier League games, and he’s a star in their eyes.
“I think for a player taking an opportunity to interact with the fans, really we should applaud, I don’t think there’s any security risk whatsoever, I don’t see any crowd surge, I don’t really see that this is a problem for the referee. Totally unnecessary from the referee in my opinion.”
New Zealand would then go on to secure a 3-0 win over New Caledonia on Monday (24 March) to confirm their qualification for the World Cup next year.
However, there may be some concern for Nottingham Forest after Wood was forced off in that match having picked up a knock.