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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. The Everton manager said he was left speechless when Fulham were awarded what proved to be a match-winning 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. The manager initially held his tongue on 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,” 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.”

Past Incidents and Growing Frustration

The coach also pointed to an earlier incident in the season at Brentford involving Virgil van Dijk which was very comparable. “It was later 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.

Lack of Dialogue with Referee Chiefs

When asked whether he intended to raise the issue with referee chiefs, Moyes expressed additional concern. “It’s unclear,” he said. “They are not accommodating 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 position from the PGMO underscores a broader problem of openness and accountability in the game’s officiating, as per the long-serving coach.