Nottingham Forest have formally requested access to VAR audio following their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City at the City Ground, as the club considers lodging an official complaint over key refereeing decisions. The loss leaves Forest just five points above the Premier League relegation zone, intensifying scrutiny over how the match was officiated.

The club approached the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to review the communications between on-field referees and the video assistant referee team during pivotal moments of the game. Forest were particularly aggrieved over City’s 83rd-minute winning goal by Rayan Cherki, which head coach Sean Dyche believes should have been disallowed for a foul on Morgan Gibbs-White. Dyche also argued that City defender Ruben Dias should have been shown a second yellow card earlier in the second half.

“Such an easy game to referee, in my opinion, such an easy decision for VAR,” Dyche told reporters after the match. “When you’ve played so well, to come in and have to talk about officials affecting the game – but they clearly did. Everyone in the stadium and everyone watching at home could see that.”

Forest players contended that Gibbs-White was pushed by Nico O’Reilly while defending a corner, preventing him from blocking Cherki’s strike. Dyche explained: “Morgan Gibbs-White quite clearly gets pushed to the floor, and the same player is involved in blocking the ball. But he can’t block it because as he jumps up, it goes through the bit of his body which he would have blocked it with. Whichever way you look at it, it’s a foul.”

Despite the protests, VAR reviewed the goal and allowed referee Rob Jones’ on-field decision to stand, leaving Forest frustrated with the outcome. Dyche continued: “They’ll say, ‘Yeah, the ball wasn’t there.’ And you go, ‘OK, so if the ball’s not near the keeper and you push the keeper to the floor, is that going to be a foul then?’ We all know it is. Then they score from it, which is the double whammy. I’m a big fan of VAR – I can’t work out how you can’t get that right.”

Former official Darren Cann, speaking on BBC Match of the Day, noted: “The video assistant referee naturally checked the goal and concluded that no ‘clear and obvious’ error was made. This was a decision that will split views – some will agree it’s a good goal and others will think it was a foul. Therefore the referee’s call of goal should stand.”

This is not the first time Forest have raised concerns about Jones’ officiating. Two years ago, he sent off Willy Boly against Bournemouth, prompting then-manager Nuno Espirito Santo to call for VAR intervention on second yellow cards. Last season, Jones also sent off Nuno for dissent during a match at Brighton, resulting in charges from the Football Association.

The club’s request for VAR audio reflects a growing trend of Premier League teams seeking transparency on controversial refereeing decisions. PGMOL has previously allowed clubs to listen privately to VAR communications, and PGMOL chief refereeing officer Howard Webb frequently discusses incidents on the Mic’d Up programme to clarify contentious calls.

As Nottingham Forest aim to climb away from the relegation zone, the focus will now shift to both performances on the pitch and ensuring fair officiating in upcoming matches.