12 January 2023 , 22:30
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Wolves captain Ruben Neves has slammed referee Graham Scott after "fighting" in a stormy Carabao Cup quarter-final at Nottingham Forest which is set to see the clubs charged by the FA.
Both sets of players were involved in a mass brawl after Forest won 4-3 on penalties to help set up a semi-final with Manchester United later this month. Stewards ran on to pitch to intervene after the feisty contest in which Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui was booked along with Matheus Nunes, Daniel Podence and Serge Aurier after the visitors were denied a late penalty.
They were infuriated by Scott’s failure to award a penalty when Emmanuel Dennis clipped Nunes’ ankle in the box. Nunes’ boot even came off in the incident and it added to Wolves’ frustrations when they eventually exited.
It was the second successive game Wolves had seen the chance of a late winner go up in smoke after Toti Gomes’ strike at Liverpool was controversially ruled out in the FA Cup.
Midfielder Neves, who missed Wolves’ first spot kick at the City Ground, fumed: “Again it's a big decision against Wolves. I'm not sure what is going on, because it feels like they don't want us to win.
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"What happened last week was a shame for English football. What happened here is really bad for English football as well. When I heard the referee say to me that the contact was not enough for him to give a penalty, maybe if I step on his foot like their player stepped on Matheus, he'll give a foul.
Dean Henderson celebrates after Nottingham Forest's win over Wolves (Getty Images)"I showed him Matheus' boot, it was completely ripped. How can a referee see the boot coming off the foot of a player and say the contact is not enough? If a boot comes off, you cannot play. He would stop the game. I cannot shoot the ball without the boot on my foot.
"Imagine, Matheus wanted to shoot with the ball and he had no boot on his foot. How can that happen? That's not normal. There's no excuses for it. Do we need to start breaking legs to have penalties in football?”
There was further controversy after the result as both players were embroiled in a mass melee. Forest forward Morgan Gibbs-White, playing against his former club after a switch last summer, fanned the flames with his celebrations.
Ruben Neves and Serge Aurier come together during the feisty match (Wolves via Getty Images)Gibbs-White, who was booed by the away fans, initially stuck his fingers in his ears and stared at the Wolves’ fans after scoring a penalty in the shoot-out and then gleefully celebrated Forest’s win.
Neves reckons his former team-mate will “regret” his actions but questioned where referee Scott was during the stormy scenes. The Portuguese ace added: "At the end of the game everyone was fighting on the pitch and the referee was in the dressing room.
"He should be outside seeing what is happening and seeing which players need to have a red card. He was inside and that's a mistake. I'm sure someone would have taken a red card, and that can change the next game.”
Lopetegui held a 90 minute face-to-face meeting with Howard Webb at Wolves' training ground on Thursday to discuss the refereeing decisions the club have suffered in their last two games. Referees' chief Webb was due to meet all managers in the coming weeks ahead but the meeting was brought forward.