🔗 Share this article

David Moyes has claimed that the Professional Game Match Officials is reluctant to engage with managers because so many refereeing decisions this season have been difficult to explain. Moyes said he was left speechless when Fulham were awarded what proved to be a decisive penalty against Nottingham Forest on Monday.

Lack of Uniformity in Penalty Calls Highlighted

The Toffees were refused a penalty on Saturday for a comparable incident during their home defeat by Arsenal. Moyes did not criticise the decision at the time but, in light of Fulham’s penalty, believes the lack of consistency of referees must be addressed.

“I was half choking last night when I saw the decision given and ours wasn’t,” Moyes commented. “It feels as though certain clubs get those decisions and other clubs don’t. We seem to be on the latter side of that.”

Previous Cases and Growing Frustration

The coach also pointed to an earlier incident in the season at Brentford involving Virgil van Dijk which was very comparable. “It was later it was given. It is frustrating it wasn’t given on the night and we are looking at others which have been overlooked,” he added.

Communication Breakdown with Officiating Authorities

When asked whether he intended to present his case with referee chiefs, Moyes expressed further frustration. “It’s unclear,” he said. “They don’t make it easy whatever you want. They don’t want to have a conversation about it really. They will have, but they don’t want to because they’re finding it probably very difficult to explain things.”

This position from the officials underscores a broader problem of openness and answerability in the game’s officiating, as per the experienced manager.