Stefan Borson drops legal claim after Nottingham Forest vs Gary Neville incident
Nottingham Forest missed out on a Champions League place after suffering a narrow defeat against Chelsea on the final day of the season.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side finished seventh in the Premier League table, just one point behind fifth-place Newcastle United, with five Champions League spots on offer.
However, the game against Chelsea on 25 May was marred by a high-profile dispute between Forest and Sky Sports.
Sky decided to present coverage of the game from their London studio after pundit Gary Neville was denied access to the City Ground.
It comes after Neville slammed the “scandalous” behaviour of Evangelos Marinakis, who entered the pitch to remonstrate with Nuno after Forest’s draw with Leicester City on 11 May.
The East Midlands side claimed the clash came about due to concern over an abdominal injury suffered by Taiwo Awoniyi.
After receiving news of his access being denied, Neville said: “Personally, I think it’s disappointing that a great club like Nottingham Forest have been reduced to making such a decision.”
Finance expert Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Forest would likely have had to give Neville access if Sky insisted due to the Premier League’s broadcasting agreement.
Nuno’s side will play in the Conference League next season following their late dip in form.
Sky could have made Nottingham Forest demand after controversy
Borson insisted Sky likely has a lot of flexibility because of the money it pays to broadcast Premier League games.
He told Football Insider: “I suspect it would never get legal, to be honest.
“I think Sky would just be pretty okay with it. I think a club ultimately has the right to refuse entry for whoever they like.
“But clearly within the Sky contract, the Premier League clubs together sign up to give reasonable access to Sky’s operatives to produce the TV show.
“So, I think legally probably if the Premier League and Sky would have insisted that Gary Neville was permitted to be in the ground, I think legally they probably would have had to have complied.
“But I suspect Neville just said ‘Well, I’m not going to cause a fuss about it’ and Sky agreed.
“But I think legally, it’s pretty unlikely that Forest would have the right to pick and choose the pundits effectively selected by Sky.
“We know that Sky spent so much money on that deal that their contract is bound to have a lot of flexibility for them and rightly so.”
Arsenal ready move to sign Nottingham Forest star
Forest’s lack of Champions League football next season could result in a nervy summer for the club and its fans, with one of their stars being heavily linked with a move away.
Football Insider revealed on 24 May Arsenal are interested in signing Morgan Gibbs-White, who is also on Manchester City’s wish list this summer.
Sources say Forest “face a battle” to keep the England International after he registered seven goals and 10 assists in 38 appearances across the latest campaign.
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