Mike Dean backs Ola Aina yellow card in 1-0 Premier League loss

Former Premier League referee Mike Dean has supported the decision to show Ola Aina a yellow card during Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 defeat by Leeds United on Saturday. The incident came in the 18th minute of Forest’s opening Premier League match of the 2026-27 season.

Aina challenged James Justin with a lunging tackle that initially raised the possibility of a sending-off. The decision was reviewed by VAR, but the right-back remained on the pitch after the referee judged the challenge to be reckless rather than serious foul play.

Dean agreed with that assessment. His view was that Aina went into the challenge from a low position, failed to make contact with the ball and caught Justin with his trailing leg. He considered the contact sufficient for a booking, but not enough to justify a red card.

The decision became one of the main talking points in a match that Forest ultimately lost to a late free-kick from Anton Stach. The result leaves Nottingham Forest without a point from their first league fixture, while Leeds begin the campaign with an away victory at the City Ground.

Aina started in Oliver Glasner’s first official match as Forest head coach. Glasner took charge after Vitor Pereira left the club earlier in the summer, and he used Aina in a right wing-back role.

The 29-year-old produced an influential display before being substituted after 74 minutes. He created three chances, the joint-highest total in the match, and completed three successful dribbles, also the best figure recorded by any player in the game.

Forest and Leeds will meet again in the EFL Cup second round during the midweek double-header. Forest’s next Premier League fixture is against Liverpool next weekend, when Aina will aim to build on his performance while avoiding another disciplinary controversy.