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David Moyes has claimed that the Professional Game Match Officials is hesitant to communicate with managers because so many refereeing decisions this season have been hard to justify. Moyes said he “half choked” when Fulham were awarded what proved to be a match-winning penalty against Nottingham Forest on Monday.

Lack of Uniformity 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, 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,” Moyes commented. “It feels as though certain clubs get those decisions and other clubs don’t. We seem to be on the latter side of that.”

Past Incidents and Mounting Discontent

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 looking at others which have been overlooked,” he added.

Communication Breakdown with Officiating Authorities

When asked whether he intended to raise the issue with the officiating body, Moyes expressed further frustration. “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 wider issue of openness and accountability in the sport’s refereeing, according to the long-serving coach.