West Ham United: Michail Antonio faces UEFA ban for swipe at officials after loss v Bayer Leverkusen
West Ham United striker Michail Antonio faces a ban in European football following a swipe at officials after the Irons defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, according to the Daily Mirror.
The outlet reported on Friday (19 April) that the Jamaican international’s comments following the Hammers’ 3-1 defeat on aggregate could come back to bite him after he was quick to slam referee Jose Maria.
Antonio opened the scoring at the London Stadium on Thursday (18 April) and led the line excellently in defeat, but the striker felt as though he was on the end of a number of poor refereeing decisions.
As quoted by the Daily Mirror, he said: “I felt like I didn’t get a decision all game. I felt a bit frustrated. We felt like we deserved more. Sometimes the decisions don’t go your way. We move on, build on that and try to get into the Europa League next year.
“It doesn’t feel like you’re playing against 11 men, it feels like you’re playing against 13 or 14 including the two linos. You have to keep pushing and try and make the decisions go your way, but they just weren’t.
“We had to keep playing our way and keep being professional.”
Will West Ham United star Michail Antonio face European ban after comments v Bayer Leverkusen?
Antonio isn’t the only person who has criticised the officials during Thursday night’s clash and it is safe to say that most supporters would agree with the striker’s assessment that he was hard done by a number of calls.
But the Jamaican international has been criticised in the past for being too quick to open his mouth and there is an argument to suggest that he should have remained more professional in his assessment of the referee.
To claim that West Ham were playing against 14 men will almost certainly see the striker his with a ban by UEFA. The only saving grace for the Hammers is the fact it currently seems unlikely they’ll be playing European football next term.
Hopefully, Antonio and the rest of his teammates will be able to channel that frustration into the remainder of the Premier League season. If they can put together a reasonable run of form, a Europa League place may not be out of reach.
In other West Ham news, one broadcaster has revealed what Moyes said about his future following the defeat to Bayer Leverkusen
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