David Moyes Asserts Refereeing Officials Reluctant to Clarify Controversial Decisions

David Moyes has claimed that the PGMO is hesitant to communicate with managers because so many refereeing decisions this season have been hard to justify. The Everton manager said he “half choked” when Fulham were awarded what proved to be a decisive penalty against Nottingham Forest on Monday.

Lack of Uniformity in Penalty Calls Highlighted

Everton were denied a penalty on Saturday for a similar offence during their home defeat by Arsenal. Moyes did not criticise the decision at the time but, following Fulham’s penalty, believes the lack of consistency of referees must be addressed.

“It took my breath away 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. We are disappointed it wasn’t given on the night and we are reviewing other instances which have been missed,” he added.

Lack of Dialogue with Officiating Authorities

Questioned on whether he intended to present his case 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 will have, but they don’t want to because they’re likely discovering it is very difficult to explain things.”

This position from the PGMO highlights a wider issue of transparency and answerability in the game’s officiating, according to the long-serving coach.