Andy Hunter 

‘They don’t make it easy’: Moyes frustrated by PGMO reluctance to explain decisions

David Moyes, the Everton manager, has criticised the inconsistency of referees after Fulham were awarded a penalty against Nottingham Forest
  
  

David Moyes remonstrates with the fourth official, Oliver Langford, during Everton’s Premier League game against Arsenal.
David Moyes remonstrates with the fourth official, Oliver Langford, during Everton’s Premier League game against Arsenal. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images

David Moyes has claimed Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) is reluctant to engage with managers because so many refereeing ­decisions this season have been difficult to explain. The Everton manager said he “half choked” when Fulham were awarded what proved to be a match-winning penalty against Nottingham Forest on Monday for Douglas Luiz’s touch on Fulham’s Kevin.

Everton were denied a penalty on Saturday for a similar offence by William Saliba on Thierno Barry during their home defeat by Arsenal. Moyes did not criticise the decision at the time but in light of Fulham’s penalty feels the inconsistency of referees can not be ignored.

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

“There was one earlier in the season at Brentford with [Virgil] van Dijk which was quite similar and I think eventually it was given. We are disappointed it wasn’t given on the night and we are looking at others which have been.”

Asked whether he intended to present his case to referee chiefs, Moyes said: “I don’t really know. They don’t make it easy whatever you want. They don’t want to have a conversation about it really. They will have [one], but they don’t want to because they’re finding it probably very difficult to explain things.”

 

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