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2 November, 2008

Ref controversy dominates Derby draw

On this day in 2008 Forest draw 1–1 at Derby County in a controversial East Midlands derby.

Controversies and incidents

Infamous on-pitch incidents
Lee Camp, former Forest goalkeeper, pictured 2007.
Lee Camp, former Forest goalkeeper, pictured 2007. Image: TuborgLight; colours improved by Malost / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A chaotic East Midlands derby at Pride Park ended 1–1, but the scoreline barely captured the confusion and anger that surrounded the final minutes.

Forest took the lead when Emanuel Villa bundled the ball into his own net after Stephen Bywater had saved from Luke Chambers. Derby later equalised through Villa at the right end, following Kris Commons’s free-kick and Nacer Barazite’s flick-on.

Lee Camp, former Forest goalkeeper, pictured 2007.
Lee Camp, former Forest goalkeeper, pictured 2007. Image: TuborgLight; colours improved by Malost / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The match then tipped into controversy. Lewis McGugan was sent off in the second half, Stuart Attwell disallowed two late Derby goals, and Lee Camp saved Barazite’s stoppage-time penalty. Camp, a former Derby player, also produced another important save from Villa’s header as the game lurched from one flashpoint to another.

The draw preserved Forest’s point, but Derby retained the Brian Clough Trophy because the trophy changes hands only on a win. The match was remembered far more for Attwell’s decisions than for the football, and it became one of the defining derby controversies of that period.

Derby Controversy Highlights

Sources

The Guardian; ESPN; Derby-Forest rivalry records

Forest timeline

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Notts County 0–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 3–0 Blackburn
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Vitória SC 1–1 Nottingham Forest
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Portimonense 1–2 Nottingham Forest Sporting CP 4–1 Nottingham Forest
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Udinese 1–0 Nottingham Forest Barcelona 1–0 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 2–1 Bayer Leverkusen
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Nottingham Forest 2–0 Stade Brestois 29
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Leeds
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Nottingham Forest 0–2 Leeds
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Liverpool 2–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–0 Tottenham
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Aston Villa 1–2 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 0–1 Coventry
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Crystal Palace 14:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 16:30 Arsenal
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Ipswich 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Brentford 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 17:30 Manchester City
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Bournemouth 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 20:00 Chelsea
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Hull City 20:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Brighton
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Sunderland 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Everton
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Manchester United 16:30 Nottingham Forest
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Newcastle 19:30 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Fulham
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Nottingham Forest 19:30 Hull City
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Manchester City 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Chelsea 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Leeds 15:00 Nottingham Forest
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Nottingham Forest 15:00 Liverpool
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Coventry 16:00 Nottingham Forest
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