Graham Potter branded 'disgrace' by fans as angry West Ham star denied farewell

 West Ham manager Graham Potter has been heavily criticised by supporters after denying Lukasz Fabianski the chance to say goodbye at the London Stadium. Fabianski is one of three long-serving Hammers leaving the club at the end of the season, but did not get onto the pitch against Nottingham Forest.

West Ham were beaten 2-1 by Forest in the Premier League on Sunday, with goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Nikola Milenkovic enough to make Jarrod Bowen’s stunning volley a mere consolation. It left the home side 15th in the league going into the final match of the season against Ipswich on Sunday.

Potter chose to start Alphonse Areola in goal and the Frenchman was at fault for Forest’s opening goal as he passed straight to Gibbs-White while trying to play out from the back. That error further irritated fans, who wanted to see Fabianski given a chance in what would have been his final home game for the club.

The 40-year-old goalkeeper joined West Ham in 2018, but is leaving as a free agent alongside Aaron Cresswell and Vladimir Coufal at the end of June. He has made 215 appearances for the club, including 16 this season, yet was snubbed by his manager.

“I feel disappointed with how it looked today,” he told Viaplay Poland afterwards. “I secretly hoped that I would be able to say goodbye to the fans at the home match, being on the pitch for at least a moment.”

The clip prompted outrage from fans. One wrote on X: “I'm Polish and people like Lukasz deserve respect and a dignified farewell. I don't understand at all why he didn't play at least 45 minutes. It's sad.” Another added: “Fabianski was one of the most consistent WHU players, damn not even for a goodbye.”

“Fabianski is as good as Areola still. There's no reason why Potter shouldn’t have played him today,” a third added. Another concluded: “Potter is a disgrace. We have nothing to play for, can't get relegated. Should've played him. He is certainly in our top 5 goalkeepers of all time.”

In an open letter to the fans, Fabianski had a classy message for Potter: “To Graham and his staff. Even though they dropped me when they took over, I’ve really enjoyed working with them, so thank you to them for the last few months.

“I wish them all the very best for the future, because this club is special, so I hope they will make it work and make the fans happy with the team they're trying to build.”

He added: “I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone connected with this beautiful football club for this beautiful journey.

“It's been actually unbelievable when it comes to my time being here, not only on the pitch, but off the pitch as well. I'm very grateful for everything. It's been an absolute pleasure, a blessing and some journey as well, because we've been through a lot of ups and downs.”