Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis caused a stir on Sunday afternoon when he furiously confronted manager Nuno Espírito Santo when the game against Leicester City ended.
With Leicester City already relegated back to the English Football Championship, Forrest, who are in the run in for a place in the UEFA Champions League next season, failed to beat them.
The Greek businessman dashed down from the directors’ box to the pitch to dress down Espírito Santo, an action which has been criticised by football pundits.
However, Marinakis showed no remorse but rather defended his response in a post-match statement, saying: “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.”
