Nuno Espírito Santo Breaks Silence on Heated Exchange with Forest Owner Marinakis
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo has finally explained the tense moment between him and club owner Evangelos Marinakis following their dramatic 2-2 draw with Leicester City on Sunday.
TV cameras captured the moment Marinakis confronted Nuno on the pitch just as he was shaking hands with Leicester midfielder Oliver Skipp. The unexpected interruption has since gone viral on social media sparking widespread speculation among fans.
According to Nuno, the Greek billionaire wasn’t angry about the result, but was instead questioning why injured striker Taiwo Awoniyi remained on the pitch after picking up a knock late in the game.
What happened to Taiwo Awoyini:
The Nigerian forward was subbed on shortly after Leicester equalized at 2-2 In the final moments of the match, he collided with the goalpost while trying to convert a cross from Anthony Elanga.
The 27-year-old Super Eagles striker was down for several minutes receiving treatment, which disrupted Forest’s momentum in their push for a late winner.
Despite the injury, Awoniyi signaled to Nuno that he was fit to continue. Trusting his player, Nuno substituted midfielder Jota Silva for Elliot Anderson instead.
However, Awoniyi continued to limp visibly, frustrating Marinakis, who appeared visibly upset at full-time.At the post-match press conference, Nuno clarified.
” It [the conversation with Marinakis] was due to the situation and the confusion over the substitution of [Taiwo Awoniyi].
We made a [different] sub and after that we played with one man less so that frustrates everyone.
When a player is down, you get information that he is OK to continue, then we make a sub and it turns out he can’t continue so we are all frustrated with that.
Football is emotions and it’s difficult to control and especially when we had so much expectation and the fans were incredible”.
Nuno was asked whether he was comfortable with being approached in so public manner by Marinakis and Nuno said:
“It is because of the owner and his passion that we are growing as a club, He pushes us,He wants us to be better,” Nuno added.”It is his passion and desire to be a big club and 30,000 people felt the same today. For sure, many of them would go on the pitch and shake us down. Us as a club, we owe a lot to the Marinakis family.”
Despite what Nuno said many fans still criticized Marinakis for entering the pitch and confronting the manager publicly, calling it unprofessional and disrespectful. The backlash prompted Marinakis to release a statement.
” We were frustrated around the injury of Taiwo [Awoniyi] and the medical staff’s misjudgement on Taiwo’s ability to continue the game.
This is natural, this is a demonstration of the passion we feel for our club.Today is a day for celebration, because after 30 years Nottingham Forest is now guaranteed to be competing on the European stage once again.
A promise I made to our supporters when we achieved promotion.With two more games to go in the Premier League, we must keep believing and keep dreaming, right to the final kick in the final game. We are extremely proud and close to Nuno and the team, and we must all celebrate the historic achievements of this season.”
This isn’t Marinakis’ first controversy. In early 2024, he received a five-match stadium ban after spitting on the ground near match officials following a 1-0 defeat to Fulham.
