Nottingham Forest Manager Sean Dyche Questions Controversial VAR Decisions in Manchester City Loss

Nottingham Forest's Sean Dyche expressed disbelief over what he deemed 'unusual' VAR calls that influenced his team's 2-1 defeat to Manchester City.

By Chris Posiano

December 28, 2025 at 1:20 AM

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Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche was left bewildered by several contentious officiating decisions, particularly involving the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), during his team's narrow 2-1 loss to Manchester City.

Dyche's frustration stemmed from two key moments in the match. The first was Rayan Cherki's winning goal in the 83rd minute, which Dyche believed should have been disallowed due to a foul on Morgan Gibbs-White in the build-up to the goal. Dyche argued that Gibbs-White was pushed from behind by Nico O'Reilly, preventing him from blocking Cherki's shot.

"Morgan Gibbs-White quite clearly gets pushed to the floor and the same player is involved in blocking the ball," Dyche said. "But he can't block it because as he jumps up, it goes through the bit of his body which he would have blocked it with. Whichever way you look at it, it's a foul."

The referee, Rob Jones, and the VAR reviewed the incident but ultimately allowed the goal to stand. Dyche was particularly puzzled by the decision, stating, "Such an easy game to referee, in my opinion, such an easy decision for VAR."

The second major point of contention was the referee's decision not to show Manchester City's Ruben Dias a second yellow card following a challenge on Igor Jesus. Dias had already received a yellow card earlier in the match for dissent.

"They say it's an accident," Dyche remarked. "If that's an accident when he's running through on goal, we all know what happens. You get a red card. So why is it an accident and he isn't yellow-carded then?"

Former referee Darren Cann defended the officials' decisions, noting that the VAR's conclusion was that no 'clear and obvious' error was made regarding Cherki's goal. Cann also stated that Dias' challenge was an "accidental crossover" and not worthy of a second yellow card.

The loss leaves Nottingham Forest hovered above the relegation zone in the Premier League, with the defeat by Manchester City keeping them just six points above West Ham United in 18th place.