The Everton manager Asserts Refereeing Officials Unwilling to Clarify Debatable Calls

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.

Inconsistency in Penalty Calls Brought to Light

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, 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. We seem to be on the latter side of that.”

Previous Cases and Growing Frustration

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. It is frustrating it wasn’t given on the night and we are reviewing other instances which have been missed,” he added.

Communication Breakdown with Officiating Authorities

Questioned on whether he intended to present his case with the officiating body, Moyes expressed further frustration. “It’s unclear,” he said. “They are not accommodating 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 broader problem of transparency and answerability in the game’s officiating, according to the experienced manager.