Ola Aina posts cheeky ‘banter’ nod after Forest handball VAR row with Arsenal | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina posted a cheeky message after surviving a late VAR handball check in the 0-0 draw with Arsenal.

With 10 minutes left at the City Ground, the incident was checked for a possible penalty as Aina tried to control a bouncing ball under pressure from Gabriel Jesus. According to Nottingham Post, the review found initial contact on his shoulder and his arm in a natural position.

Head coach Sean Dyche noted Aina was being nudged in the back by teammate Elliot Anderson as they defended the situation. He felt the officials reached the right outcome.

Mikel Arteta argued the ball hit the shoulder then the hand and said the timing and intention made it, in his view, a very clear penalty.

Aina later said in a video on X that he felt a little nudge from Anderson, that the ball touched him with his hands by his sides, and that he thought it was the right call.

On Instagram he celebrated a valuable point and shared images from the match, including the VAR review, writing, “Loved being back at the city ground in front of our fans.” He set the post to Viva La Raza, featuring the lyric, “I lie, I cheat, I steal”, then added on his story, “Viva La Raza (Just a bit of banter)” with a grinning sweat emoji.

Source: Nottingham Post