Nottingham Forest and Super Eagles fullback Ola Aina has questioned the officiating that preceded Taiwo Awoniyi’s harrowing injury during Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Leicester City at the City Ground.
Awoniyi, who had come on as a late substitute, crashed into the goalpost while trying to meet a cross from Anthony Elanga, a move that left him with a ruptured intestine requiring emergency surgery.
The Super Eagles striker was placed in an induced coma but is now awake and recovering in hospital, surrounded by family.
At the heart of the controversy is assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis, who did not immediately raise her flag despite Elanga appearing clearly offside in the build-up to the incident.
‘New offside rule the primary cause of Taiwo Awoniyi’s injury’ – Aina
Aina believes the delay, a product of modern refereeing directives, cost his teammate dearly.
“Anthony was miles offside,” said Aina. “The whole world could see and so could I from where I was. You think ‘offside’ straight away. Surely you could just lift the flag up?”
UPDATE: Taiwo Awoniyi is out of the induced coma and now with family following successful surgery ✅.
He remains in hospital and is being closely monitored as recovery begins 🏥
🗞️: [@MikeKeegan_DM] pic.twitter.com/GloWpGrj65
— The 𝘛ó𝘺ò𝘴í 𝘈𝘧𝘰𝘭á𝘺𝘢𝘯™️ (@Toyosi4layan) May 14, 2025
The former Chelsea man did not hide his frustration with the officiating trend of allowing play to continue before raising the flag.
“Personally, I liked how it was back in the day, a simple decision and get on with the game,” he added. “Having to see it out and then just see this happen… well none of this would have happened to ‘T’ if the flag had just gone up, would it?” He told Daily Mail.
Forest players remain in contact with Awoniyi and continue to support him through his recovery.
