David Moyes: Referee in West Ham United v Southampton should ‘Go to Specsavers’ after two shock decisions
David Moyes was left fuming at both the referee and VAR on Sunday as West Ham were held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton.
West Ham were held to a frustrating draw on Sunday afternoon, with Romain Perraud scoring after 20 minutes for the hosts before Declan Rice drew the Hammers level after the break.
But Moyes was fuming on the sidelines at the referee, with the Scot believing that Saints’ goal shouldn’t have stood. He also believes his side should have been awarded a penalty.
“How have we not got three points? The real reason is the referee, the referee gets in the way of the ability for us to defend,” said Moyes, as quoted by The Mirror.
“Ridiculous, it really is. The referee got in his [Bowen’s] way. Maybe you just have to say that the referee was in a really bad position.
“I asked him about it, but I spoke to him more about the penalty kick. The penalty kick on Tomas Soucek is a judo move by the player who is marking him.
“He gets him and throws him right down, it’s unreal. It’s not the referee, it is VAR. Whoever was on VAR today needs to go to Specsavers”
Frustrating
Sunday’s match was frustrating from start to finish. West Ham didn’t play particularly badly, but a mix of bad luck and poor decisions meant the Hammers only took one point away from their Southampton trip.
Moyes is right to slam the VAR decision – Bowen was denied the chance to defend Southampton’s goal and things could’ve been very different had things gone in West Ham’s favour.
But fingers also need to be pointed at the players. The side only managed four shots on target throughout the match. Despite dominating the ball, West Ham weren’t able to break down the Southampton defence.
Again, a penalty would’ve changed everything and potentially been the difference between one and three points today, but West Ham had the potential to take control out of the referee’s hands.
After calming down and reflecting on the match, Moyes will likely want to write off Sunday’s clash as a blip and urge his side to refocus ahead of a really difficult trip to Anfield on Wednesday evening.