Aasif Rahman

Thu 15 May 2025 10:22, UK

Gabriel Magalhaes shared support for Taiwo Awoniyi following a serious injury sustained during Nottingham Forest’s clash with Leicester City.

Despite Nottingham Forest dropping points in their pursuit of a Champions League spot, the headlines were quickly dominated by other incidents from the game.

Owner Evangelos Marinakis stormed onto the pitch at full-time to confront manager Nuno Espirito Santo, but the most concerning moment came earlier in the match.

Awoniyi continued to play after colliding heavily with the goalpost despite receiving heavy medical attention.

It has since been confirmed that the striker suffered a serious abdominal injury and that Awoniyi has now woken up after being placed in a medically induced coma after undergoing surgery.

In the aftermath of the game, tributes and messages of support flooded in from across the footballing world including Arsenal defender Gabriel, dedicating a message to Awoniyi.

Gabriel shares message for Taiwo Awoniyi after controversial incident

Gabriel shared a photo of Awoniyi on his Instagram story, with a post that wrote “Pray for Taiwo” alongside a prayer emoji, in response to the Forest striker’s serious injury.

Forest teammate Murillo also posted a tribute to Awoniyi in a similar message, as the full extent of his injury remains unclear.

Controversy surrounds the moment that led to the injury, with Anthony Elanga appearing to be clearly offside in the build-up. Despite this, the linesman did not raise his flag, and play continued and ultimately resulting in Awoniyi colliding with the goalpost.

Outraged Nottingham Forest fans have since called for the club to take legal action against PGMOL, arguing the incident could have been avoided had the offside been flagged.

There are now calls for PGMOL chief Howard Webb to introduce changes to the current rules in order to prevent similar incidents and minimise risk to players.

Nuno Espirito Santo faces uncertain future after pitch confrontation

After the owner stormed onto the pitch it was later revealed in an official statement that Marinakis was frustrated given the injury sustained by Awoniyi which saw him rushed to hospital despite attempting to continue.

However, Nottingham Fans are convinced Nuno will be sacked due to the fallout from the disagreement on the pitch.

Football Insider revealed that Nottingham Forest had been considering offering Nuno a new deal following what was largely seen as a promising campaign, but after the disagreement on the pitch and possibly a disappointing end to the season, it may force a rethink at the top level of the club.