David Moyes Asserts Refereeing Officials Reluctant to Clarify Debatable Calls
David Moyes has claimed that the PGMO is hesitant to communicate with managers because a high number of refereeing decisions this season have been hard to justify. The Everton manager 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 Spot-Kick Decisions Highlighted
Everton were denied a penalty on Saturday for a similar offence during their home defeat by Arsenal. The manager initially held his tongue on the decision at the time but, following 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. “There is a sense that 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 quite similar. “It was later it was given. We are disappointed it wasn’t given on the night and we are reviewing other instances which have been overlooked,” he added.
Lack of Dialogue with Officiating Authorities
When asked whether he intended to raise the issue with the officiating body, Moyes expressed further frustration. “It’s unclear,” he said. “They don’t make it easy whatever you want. They are unwilling to have a conversation about it really. They might engage, but they don’t want to because they’re finding it probably very difficult to explain things.”
This position from the PGMO highlights a wider issue of openness and accountability in the game’s officiating, as per the long-serving coach.
