Michael Dawson: Nuno/Marinakis Incident Could Have Been Avoided

One of the biggest talking points of the season occurred at the City Ground last weekend after Nottingham Forest's 2-2 draw with Leicester. 

It was a game Forest were supposed to win according to odds on football betting sites, but the game had a controversial ending.

Leading 2-1 with nine minutes to play, Leicester equalised through Facundo Buonanotte to rescue a point for the already-relegated Foxes. 

Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis went on to the pitch and looked to be remonstrating with his manager Nuno Espirito Santo, who claimed the incident was blown out of proportion.

The home side used their final substitution on replacing Jota with Elliot Anderson, thinking forward Taiwo Awoniyi was fit enough to continue. 

Unfortunately, Awoniyi wasn't able to finish the game, and was placed into an induced coma two days later after requiring surgery on an abdominal injury.

Marinakis Incident Could Have Been Avoided 

The scenes of Marinakis confronting Nuno did not look good for anybody involved with Forest and former defender Michael Dawson told Gambling.com in an exclusive interview that the incident could have been avoided. 

"For the owner to go on the pitch, that shouldn't have happened," Dawson said. 

"There's no need for an owner to be on the pitch. He could have waited down the tunnel and spoken to Nuno then. 

"I can see his frustration. These things happen, it's a heated moment - but what the owner did, I didn't like it.

“I was at the City Ground on Sunday and I saw the incident as it happened. I was hoping that Awoniyi was going to be okay. 

"It was a must-win game for Nottingham Forest in my opinion, and Jota Silva is in the process of coming on. 

"Could they have made the decision quickly and said, ‘right, he's been hurt, how is he going to be? Do we just take him off?’ 

"“It was one of those situations where you think, it should have probably been taken out of his [Nuno’s] hands, but these things happen. 

"As long as he's on the mend, that is the main thing, but an owner going on the pitch wasn't a good look for Nottingham Forest, and for all the good work that Nuno and those players have done."

Missing Out On Champions League Will Hurt

Those two dropped points against Leicester could cost Forest a place in next season's Champions League. 

For much of the season, they occupied third place and a place in Europe's elite club competition looked a certainty. 

One win in their last six league games has seen the Tricky Trees fall to seventh in the table and in need of help elsewhere to secure a Champions League spot. 

Dawson, a Forest fan growing up, admits whatever happens between now and the end of the season, there are plenty of positives to take from the campaign, especially if they can make the Europa League.

"Speaking to people there [last Sunday], of course it would be a disappointment [to miss out on the Champions League], because of what they've done," Dawson said.

"But then you flip it and think, what a positive season it's been. 

"I was at this football club in the Championship when it was 23 years out of the Premier League, and over 30 years since they’ve been in European football."

City Ground Will Host European Football Next Season

Whatever happens in Forest's last two games of the season, they have done enough to bring European nights back to the City Ground. 

It remains to be seen which competition they will feature in, but Dawson is excited to have some of the top clubs in Europe visiting his former club. 

"To have European football in some capacity, they have to take it as a positive," Dawson said. 

"However, when you're third for the majority of the season, and then you go on the run that they've gone on in recent weeks - of course it's going to be a disappointment. 

“Let's not kid ourselves 13 years ago, they were looking over the shoulder at relegation [from the Championship]. It's a real challenge to get Champions League, and it was a sucker punch against Leicester, dropping two points.

“But when they reflect, I think it's been a really positive season. They've tailed off a little bit, but they were way overachieving. 

"They were playing to their maximum potential and riding their luck. Matz Sels was making save after save, and clearing the ball off the line in the final minutes of games. Things were going for them.

“And now they’re just not quite getting the rub of the green, and the players probably aren’t playing [to the levels] that we were seeing six weeks ago.

"The job Nuno has done is remarkable, because I'm not sure too many people had them down to even finish in the top half. 

"I honestly thought it was going to be a surprise season, I did. But did I expect it to be this good? No, I didn't.”