Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis walked onto the pitch to scold manager Nuno Espirito Santo moments after Sunday's Premier League match against Leicester City, which ended in a 2-2 draw and put their Champions League hopes at risk.
The draw was a frustrating result for Nottingham considering that Leicester City is slated to be relegated next season, having the second worst record in the Premier League. After Sunday's match, Nottingham fell to seventh place in the Premier League and only the top five teams in the standings will qualify for the Champions League.
With the amount of money Marinakis has invested in the club, failing to earn a bid for the Champions League would be a hugely disappointing result. Marinakis made his feelings known publicly, confronting Santo on the pitch just moments after the match ended.
WILD SCENES IN NOTTINGHAM 😳
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) May 11, 2025
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis immediately takes to the pitch to scold manager Nuno Espirito Santo after their draw with Leicester puts Champions League qualification in serious Jeopardy.
WAS THIS BEHAVIOR CALLED FOR BY THE GREEK OWNER? pic.twitter.com/5wETjBuKvp
We haven't seen a manager embarrassed in such public fashion since a Chelsea goalkeeper refused to be substituted out of a match. Marinakis could certainly have waited until the team headed back to the locker room before berating him. The result of the match was embarrassing enough for Santo. There are ways to go about this behind the scenes, and for the owner to call out their coach this way is not a good look.
As for Nottingham's Champions League hopes, they could still qualify, but they no longer control their own destiny. Realistically, Nottingham has to win their remaining matches against West Ham and Chelsea and get some help. Since they are only a point behind Chelsea in the standings, that match takes on huge ramifications. They also need a draw or loss from Aston Villa, who is only a point ahead. A loss from Man City would help, but they are playing teams in the lower half of the standings, so that may not be likely.
Regardless of how things play out, the next two games for Nottingham are going to be very interesting.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
