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David Moyes has claimed 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 match-winning penalty against Nottingham Forest on Monday.

Lack of Uniformity in Penalty Calls Highlighted

The Toffees were refused 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, in light of Fulham’s penalty, feels the inconsistency of referees can not be ignored.

“I was half choking 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. We seem to be on the latter side of that.”

Past Incidents and Growing Frustration

The coach also pointed to an earlier incident 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 overlooked,” 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 are unwilling 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 stance from the PGMO highlights a wider issue of openness and answerability in the sport’s refereeing, according to the long-serving coach.