Nottingham Forest has lodged a formal complaint with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the referees' body, following their 2-1 Premier League defeat by Manchester City on Saturday. The club expressed extreme dissatisfaction with referee Rob Jones' decisions during the match at the City Ground, and sources indicate they have requested the VAR audio recordings to understand the communication between on-pitch officials and the video assistant referee team during key moments.

The primary grievances center on two contentious decisions in the second half. Forest's head coach, Sean Dyche, felt that Rayan Cherki's 83rd-minute winning goal should have been disallowed due to a clear foul on Morgan Gibbs-White. Players argued that Gibbs-White was pushed by Nico O'Reilly while defending a corner, preventing him from blocking the shot. Dyche stated, "Morgan Gibbs-White quite clearly gets pushed to the floor and the same player is involved in blocking the ball... Whichever way you look at it, it's a foul." Despite a VAR check, the on-field decision to allow the goal stood.

Additionally, Forest believes City defender Rúben Dias should have received a second yellow card after clipping Forest's Igor Jesus as he ran behind the defence. This incident, occurring after the break, was not subject to VAR intervention as it was not a straight red card offence. Sean Dyche voiced his frustration, saying he was "absolutely stunned" by the decisions and noting, "Such an easy game to referee, in my opinion, such an easy decision for VAR... When you 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."

The defeat leaves Nottingham Forest five points above the Premier League's relegation zone, now in 17th place. Manchester City's victory briefly propelled them to the top of the table; they are currently second, two points behind Arsenal. PGMOL has a history of playing audio privately to clubs, including Forest, and chief refereeing officer Howard Webb also discusses incidents on the Mic'd Up programme.