Nottingham Forest, manager Nuno Espirito Santo and defender Neco Williams have been charged with misconduct by the Football Association, on the same day former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg left his role with the club.

The FA has acted over Nuno and Williams’ comments following the 2-0 defeat at Everton last month, while Clattenburg has been warned about his future conduct.

The FA said: “It’s alleged that the club, manager and player’s comments constitute improper conduct in that they imply bias and/or question the integrity of the match officials and/or bring the game into disrepute.”

They have until Thursday to respond to the charge.

Forest were fuming after having three penalty decisions go against them and released an angry statement on X – seen over 45m times – just minutes after the final whistle.

The club claimed they told referees body the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) that the game’s video assistant referee (VAR) Stuart Attwell was allegedly a fan of relegation rivals Luton.

Despite the critical post on social media, BBC Sport has been told that Forest did not ask for Attwell to be replaced prior to the match.

Boss Nuno, Williams and Clattenburg were asked for their observations by the FA. Nuno confirmed on Thursday he had responded.

The Premier League also confirmed it will investigate the comments.

The news comes after Clattenburg stepped down from his role, saying his position had “become more of a hindrance than help” to the club.

Clattenburg began working with the relegation-threatened Premier League side as a referee analyst in February.

He has been involved in high-profile incidents following refereeing decisions in Forest matches, including after defeat by Liverpool in March and the loss at Goodison Park.

Clattenburg said his role has caused “unintended friction between Forest and other participants”.

“It has also led to the unmerited targeting of me, personally, by certain participants and pundits,” he added.

“Such reactions and outcome was not expected and is regrettable, as it is my sincere belief that there is a place for and value in such a role in the modern game.”