Nottingham Forest manager Oliver Glasner criticised the video assistant referee (VAR) for wrongly ruling out Neco Williams' goal in a 0-0 Premier League draw with Tottenham Hotspur at the City Ground, accusing the official of "guessing" rather than applying a clear and obvious threshold. Referee Craig Pawson initially awarded the goal before VAR Peter Bankes intervened, judging that Williams had handled the ball immediately before it went in, a decision that leaves both sides still without a win this season and adds to ongoing debate about the consistency of VAR interventions.

The disallowed effort came in the 67th minute after chaotic Tottenham defending, with the Premier League confirming VAR determined Williams "handled the ball immediately before scoring". Williams strongly disputed this, insisting the ball came off his head rather than his arm, while Glasner argued that from the replay angles it was not "100% clear" and that pre-season guidance had set a high bar for VAR intervention. Unlike subjective handball or penalty calls, this was treated as a factual decision requiring definitive proof the ball touched the arm, a threshold BBC analysis notes is higher than the usual "clear and obvious error" standard, and inherently dependent on the judgement of the individual VAR on duty.