Nottingham Forest: Steven Reid guilty of expletive-laden abuse of referee Paul Tierney

Nottingham Forest first-team coach Steven Reid is sent off by referee Paul Tierney after Premier League game against Liverpool — Steven Reid was sent off after the final whistle after confronting referee Paul Tierney

Nottingham Forest first-team coach Steven Reid has been given an extended two-match touchline ban and fined £5,000 after being found guilty of misconduct by the Football Association.

Reid confronted referee Paul Tierney following Forest's defeat by Liverpool earlier this month.

It was found he had used an expletive phrase towards Tierney on more than three occasions.

Forest have also been fined £75,000 for their part in the incident.

The Premier League side were punished for failing to ensure their players and technical staff "did not behave in an improper way after the final whistle". The club admitted the charge.

The incident followed Darwin Nunez's 99th-minute winner at the City Ground.

What happened?

Forest had control of the ball outside the penalty area when the game was stopped following a head injury to Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate in second-half stoppage time.

The home side were left incensed by Tierney's decision to hand possession back to Liverpool via a drop-ball, from which Nunez went on to score - albeit almost two minutes after the game re-started.

Mark Clattenburg, Forest's referee analyst, criticised the decision post-match, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: "If the referee stops the game, he has to give the ball back to the team in possession. That was Forest."

In his report of the incident, Tierney said: "Following the final whistle I was surrounded by members of Nottingham Forest's substitutes and backroom staff on the field of play.

"One of those who approached me was Steven Reid, who was not listed on the teamsheet.

"He asked me about a decision and I said to him that I will speak to him inside and not outside on the field of play. He then continued to question me and I repeated that I would speak to him inside. He then said, 'it's the same every week, you [expletive]'."

Tierney showed him a red card for his comment, which Reid admitted was abusive and insulting. However, Reid, 43, denied that he continued to use such language towards Tierney after he was sent off.

But Tierney said Reid went on to repeatedly swear and call him the expletive term at least twice more as they left the field of play, while reports from the assistant referees said that Reid "continued to confront" Tierney. The charge was proven.

After the match, Forest confirmed their owner Evangelos Marinakis did approach Tierney after the match but dismissed reports that he had to be restrained.

It is the fourth time in 18 months that Forest have faced a sanction for surrounding a match official.

In its conclusion, the regulatory commission that imposed the latest sanction said "future breaches of the rules may be treated more severely".