David Moyes Claims PGMO Unwilling to Clarify Controversial Calls
The Everton boss has stated that the Professional Game Match Officials 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
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 Mounting Discontent
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 looking at others which have been overlooked,” he added.
Communication Breakdown with Referee Chiefs
Questioned on whether he intended to raise the issue with referee chiefs, 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 will have, but they don’t want to because they’re finding it probably very difficult to explain things.”
This stance from the PGMO highlights a broader problem of openness and accountability in the sport’s refereeing, according to the experienced manager.