The Everton manager Claims PGMO Unwilling to Explain Debatable Calls
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
Everton were denied 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, 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. “There is a sense that certain clubs get those decisions and other clubs don’t. It appears we are on the latter side of that.”
Past Incidents and Mounting Discontent
The coach also pointed to an previous case in the season at Brentford involving Virgil van Dijk which was quite similar. “I think eventually 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.
Communication Breakdown with Referee Chiefs
Questioned on whether he intended to raise the issue with the officiating body, Moyes expressed further frustration. “It’s unclear,” 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 finding it probably very difficult to explain things.”
This stance from the officials underscores a wider issue of openness and accountability in the sport’s refereeing, according to the long-serving coach.