It has been stated that a joke made by former Nottingham Forest chairman Nicholas Randall once left Steve Cooper “furious.”
In lieu of Cooper, Forest named Nuno Espirito Santo on a two-and-a-half-year contract on Wednesday.
After leading the team for two years but losing five of his last six league games, the Welshman was fired a day earlier.
When the team was mired at the bottom of the Championship in September 2021, the former England U17s manager took charge at Forest.
After leading them to victory in the playoffs, when they defeated Huddersfield at Wembley in the championship game, he went on to ensure the club’s Premier League survival the next season in spite of a significant player turnover.
But Cooper’s relationship with the club’s management has reportedly been soured for some time.
The Athletic claims that Cooper became upset with club chairman Randall during the summer after a joke he made at Nottingham Castle at the pre-season clothing reveal for supporters, sponsors, and other guests.
Randall began his address by making a lighthearted reference to Cooper’s attire, a joke that the Forest chief apparently found amusing.
But according to the article, Cooper lost it when Randall made light of club captain Joe Worrall with a cheesy joke.
Randall added that Worrall had dreamed of being a professional cricket player for a portion of his boyhood. “And halfway through last season, we all wished he had been a professional cricketer, too,” was the joke, according to The Athletic.
Worrall was reported to be displeased, and Cooper—who perceived it as “a kick in the teeth” for himself, the player, and his entire coaching staff—was claimed to feel that his captain had been publically humiliated.
According to reports, Randall’s remarks caused such a stir within the club that some discussed whether the chairman should not go with the players for a preseason match against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Ultimately, it was reported that Randall was notified that the trip to Germany was overbooked.
Nottingham Forest was approached by SPORTbible for a statement.
A representative for Steve Cooper, meantime, has strongly denied the allegations.
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