David Moyes Claims PGMO Reluctant to Clarify Debatable Decisions
David Moyes has claimed that the PGMO is reluctant to engage with managers because a high number of refereeing decisions this season have been hard to justify. Moyes said he was left speechless when Fulham were awarded what proved to be a decisive penalty against Nottingham Forest on Monday.
Inconsistency 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, 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. It appears we are on the latter side of that.”
Previous Cases and Growing Frustration
Moyes also referenced an previous case 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 missed,” he added.
Lack of Dialogue with Referee Chiefs
Questioned on whether he intended to raise the issue with referee chiefs, Moyes expressed additional concern. “I don’t really know,” 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 likely discovering it is very difficult to explain things.”
This stance from the officials highlights a wider issue of transparency and answerability in the sport’s refereeing, according to the long-serving coach.
