🔗 Share this article

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. The Everton manager said he “half choked” when Fulham were awarded what proved to be a match-winning penalty against Nottingham Forest on Monday.

Inconsistency in Penalty Calls Brought to Light

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.

“It took my breath away last night when I saw the decision given and ours wasn’t,” said the Everton manager. “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.”

Previous Cases and Growing Frustration

Moyes also referenced an earlier incident in the season at Brentford involving Virgil van Dijk which was quite similar. “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.

Communication Breakdown with Officiating Authorities

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 don’t want 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 underscores a wider issue of transparency and accountability in the sport’s refereeing, as per the long-serving coach.