David Moyes said the refereeing body had conceded mistakes had been made over bookings for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall argues with referee Sam Barrott after receiving a yellow card during the Premier League match between Everton and West Ham United. Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall argues with referee Sam Barrott after receiving a yellow card during the Premier League match between Everton and West Ham United. Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
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David Moyes said refereeing chiefs appeared to accept Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had been wrongly booked against Liverpool and West Ham United. Everton have raised concerns over the incidents with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) after the playmaker received his fifth yellow card of a Premier League season just six games old on Monday.
Replays showed he won the ball in his challenge on Kyle Walker-Peters.
The previous week, the same player was booked for taking a quick free-kick as Everton chased an equaliser at Anfield - a decision that drew public frustration from Moyes and Dewsbury-Hall’s team-mate, Jack Grealish.
Dewsbury-Hall labelled his latest yellow, for a challenge on Walker-Peters as Everton sought a late winner against West Ham “mind-boggling”.
It was a call that means he will now miss the upcoming match with Crystal Palace through suspension.
Speaking ahead of that game, Moyes confirmed the club has been in dialogue with PGMOL over the calls.
He said: “We have spoken to them, I think they are accepting that both yellow cards were wrong.
“It is amazing. If you look through his history I think he only had six bookings last year in total, five the year before. He has never had these numbers at all.
“The last two decisions were terrible - more for the boy. We are going to miss him greatly but he has been back playing regularly and enjoying his football.”
Dewsbury-Hall’s absence creates an opportunity for Moyes to change his attacking midfield on Sunday, with Carlos Alcaraz or Tyler Dibling the most likely beneficiary.
Asked about the form of Iliman Ndiaye, who suggested this week he was more comfortable on the left or in a central position, Moyes said: “It will take him a bit of time [to adapt to the right] and we might change him over at different times, back to the left when we think it is the right moment, or if different things change we can play him in the number 10 as well, so we can think about how we play Ili at different times.
“The one thing he has done is that he continues to play really well. He gets goals for us as well, which is something we are trying to keep up. He is doing very well on the right, as with the left, he has impressed me in both positions.”