David Moyes Claims Refereeing Officials Unwilling to Explain Controversial Calls
The Everton boss has stated 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 match-winning penalty against Nottingham Forest on Monday.
Inconsistency in Penalty Calls Highlighted
Everton were denied a penalty on Saturday for a comparable incident 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. “It feels as though certain clubs get those decisions and other clubs don’t. It appears we are 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. We are disappointed it wasn’t given on the night and we are reviewing other instances which have been overlooked,” he added.
Communication Breakdown with Referee Chiefs
When asked whether he intended to raise the issue with the officiating body, Moyes expressed additional concern. “I don’t really know,” he said. “They don’t make it easy whatever you want. They don’t want to have a conversation about it really. They might engage, but they don’t want to because they’re likely discovering it is very difficult to explain things.”
This stance from the PGMO underscores a broader problem of transparency and answerability in the game’s officiating, according to the experienced manager.
