THIS was the hilarious moment Nottingham Forest fans jokingly tried to bribe referee Anthony Taylor during their win over Southampton.
Forest moved level with Arsenal in second place thanks to a 3-2 win at the City Ground on Sunday.
First-half goals from Elliot Anderson, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood put Nuno Espirito Santo's men on course.
And Forest showed their defensive mettle as Southampton threatened with a late comeback through strikes from Jan Bednarek and Paul Onuachu.
At one point, however, the home side looked completely flawless as Nikola Milenkovic's powerful header took them 4-1 ahead.
Referee Taylor had initially allowed the goal to stand before VAR intervened and recommended a check on the pitch monitor.
But as the official went to watch the footage, Forest fans behind the screen hilariously waved credit cards and wallets at him in a prank attempt to bribe and influence his decision.
The clip of the moment quickly went viral, with one person commenting: “This is really funny.”
Another stated: “He asks to swipe.”
One commented: “This country and chatter.”
Another added: “Insane.”
Unfortunately for Forest fans, watching the VAR footage led to Taylor disallowing Milenkovic's goal.
The decision was made because teammate Wood interfered in the game from an offside position.
A statement from the Premier League Match Center said: “The referee's goal was checked by VAR, who ruled that Wood interfered with play after coming from an offside position.
“After an on-field review, the referee overturned the original decision and the goal was disallowed.”
Forest boss Santo also had his opinion on the ruled out strike, adding: “I have seen the image, the VAR judges it, the law is clear.
“If a player is offside, makes contact and intervenes, the goal must be disallowed. There is nothing to say about that.”
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