£12m Nottingham Forest star defended by three pundits after flashpoint vs Leicester

Nottingham Forest beat Leicester City 3-1 on Friday night and after nine games of the season, the club sit seventh in the Premier League.

The win over the Foxes came at a canter really with Steve Cooper seeing his team concede a really soft goal just after half-time.

Ryan Yates had opened the scoring before Jamie Vardy restored parity before the half-time interval.

Chris Wood then intervened and after his two goals he earned praise from Robbie Earle for his efforts leading the Forest line.

There was a flashpoint in the second half shortly after Forest had gone back in front at the King Power Stadium.

It came after a ball over the top had seemingly sent Vardy through on goal with Nikola Milenkovic trying to put him off.

The Leicester striker went over in the penalty area but referee Craig Pawson nor the VAR saw it as anything other than a coming together.

Forest went on to stamp authority on the game and for Leicester, they possibly shared the Reds’ frustrations from earlier this season at a decision that hasn’t gone their way.

Pundits deliver verdict on Jamie Vardy penalty incident vs Nottingham Forest

It would have been really harsh had Pawson pointed to the spot for a penalty during this incident – and thankfully he was in a great position.

Vardy has made a career out of getting into those types of positions on the pitch and it was perhaps a relief that he didn’t get a shot away.

Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has shared his opinion – and he doesn’t believe that Pawson got this one wrong.

He said on Ref Watch: “It’s not a penalty, no not for me, he gets a little touch but he catches his own ankle and that’s what sends him over.”

Usual pundits Sue Smith and Stephen Warnock were also in agreement that this was a decision that the match officials managed to get right.

Smith said: “I agree with Dermot, at first glance, it looks like a penalty but it’s not, he clearly kicks his won heels.”

Finally, Warnock added: “I think he might have brushed Vardy but he’s clipped his own ankles and there’s nothing in it.”

Forest starting to get rub of the green with match officials

In recent weeks, Forest have been treated. Chris Kavanagh, Tim Robinson and now Pawson have all refereed the team’s matches extremely well.

It’s about time that as Forest fans we stopped playing the victim card every time we’re on the wrong end of the bad decisions.

Ultimately, the standard across the board in the Premier League is suspect at times but there are still some good match officials.

Pawson demonstrated that on Friday night and given that he’s used to doing far bigger games than Leicester and Forest, there was no ego about his performance.

He gave what was expected and much like Robinson did on Monday night, he allowed the game to flow.

Thankfully, he didn’t get suckered in by Vardy’s antics and it’s also good to hear Sky Sports side with Forest on this incident.