Nottingham Forest vs Man City ref watch: Three decisions Rob Jones got wrong
Rob Jones had the entirety of the City Ground on his back during a frustrating clash between Nottingham Forest and Man City.
Former head of the PGMOL, Keith Hackett, has been far from impressed with Jones this season, and it was another difficult afternoon for the referee on Saturday, 27 December.
Forest fell to defeat against Fulham in their last outing, with the Citizens claiming a simple win over West Ham to keep up the chase on Arsenal in the title race, but it was a game of two halves at the City Ground.
The home side were furious heading into the half-time break, not least because they should have taken the lead, but also due to some interesting refereeing decisions in the first 45 minutes.
With Pep Guardiola‘s side eventually securing victory, Football Insider delved into some of Jones’ decisions.
Nico Gonzalez goes unpunished by Rob Jones
Despite bringing down counter-attacking Forest players on multiple occasions, the Spaniard somehow avoided a sanction by the referee, even until the final whistle.
The same could be said for Josko Gvardiol, who made a couple of cynical fouls on the halfway line, with those at the home stadium furious when Elliot Anderson‘s name was taken after just one infringement.
There was a huge show of inconsistency from one of Howard Webb‘s referees, with his decisions quickly changing the atmosphere from nervous and excited to infuriated.
Ruben Dias was allowed to stay on the pitch
Already on a yellow card, Ruben Dias clipped Igor Jesus‘ ankle in the first few seconds of the second half, bringing a halt to another Forest attack, with the referee being surrounded by players.
Jesus was adamant that a second yellow card should have been shown to the centre-back, and less than two minutes later, Man City had the ball in the back of the net.
The domino effect was evident at the City Ground.
Igor Jesus escapes with a sanction of his own
Into the final 10 minutes, and both sides were pushing for a winner. Jesus attempted to win the ball back for his team, and upon replays being shown, it was clear he had made contact with Phil Foden.
His studs-up challenge landed on the City attacker’s knee, but with brief contact, VAR would not get involved over a possible red card, but it certainly deserved a caution for being reckless.