David Moyes Asserts Refereeing Officials Reluctant to Clarify Debatable Decisions

The Everton boss has stated that the Professional Game Match Officials is hesitant to communicate with managers because a high number of refereeing decisions this season have been difficult to explain. The Everton manager said he was left speechless when Fulham were awarded what proved to be a decisive penalty against Nottingham Forest on Monday.

Inconsistency in Spot-Kick Decisions 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.

“I was half choking 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

The coach also pointed to 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 reviewing other instances which have been missed,” he added.

Lack of Dialogue with Officiating Authorities

Questioned on whether he intended to raise the issue 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 are unwilling to have a conversation about it really. They might engage, but they don’t want to because they’re finding it probably very difficult to explain things.”

This stance from the PGMO underscores a broader problem of openness and accountability in the game’s officiating, according to the experienced manager.