Mark Clattenburg speaks out on Nottingham Forest fury as Gary Neville urges him to resign

Mark Clattenburg has issued his verdict on the drama surrounding Nottingham Forest, branding the three refereeing decisions that went against the club in their defeat to Everton as "a joke".

In a relegation showdown, Forest were beaten 2-0 by Everton at Goodison Park. The crushing loss leaves them in a perilous situation, just one point above the bottom three. Forest's anguish was compounded when referee Anthony Taylor and VAR dismissed three penalty claims.

Forest fumed in the aftermath of the defeat, venting their frustration in a social media statement criticising the match officials and claiming that the VAR official was a Luton Town fan - one of Forest's direct competitors in their relegation battle.

Clattenburg, currently employed as a refereeing consultant by Forest, pinpointed the non-intervention of VAR as part of the issue. Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: "One of these errors would have been bad enough. Three was a joke, and that is why Nottingham Forest were left feeling victimised after another defeat in which zero big decisions went their way."

Ashley Young found himself at the heart of all the major decisions, with VAR official Stuart Atwell choosing not to direct the on-field referee to the monitor for a second look. Clattenburg argued that such close calls were exactly why the technology was implemented, but its lack of use was a significant mistake.

He stated: "These situations were precisely why video technology was brought into the Premier League and yet, Attwell did not send Taylor to his monitor. Not once. It was a hat-trick of howlers from the refereeing team and, unfortunately for Forest, a continuation of an unjust trend that has hampered their survival fight."

Forest's suggestion that the influence of a Luton fan played a role has drawn substantial criticism. Both Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have criticised the club, with the latter claiming that Clattenburg should step down from his position at Forest.

However, the former Premier League referee insists that the controversy was created by the league and could have been completely avoided if they had come to different decisions.

"I would not have risked this situation if I were the head of the referees and all of this could have been avoided had the PGMOL simply made smarter appointments," he said. "Referees do not make mistakes deliberately but this was mind-boggling to watch. Why Attwell did not send Taylor to his screen, only he will know."