David Moyes, the West Ham manager, expressed his dissatisfaction with multiple refereeing decisions that he felt adversely affected his team in their 2-2 draw against Burnley.
The game was salvaged for West Ham with a last-gasp goal from Danny Ings, although Ings had previously had a goal disallowed for being marginally offside. Additionally, there was a controversial moment when Sander Berge appeared to handle the ball, for which West Ham felt a penalty should have been awarded.
Moyes was particularly aggrieved, stating, “Today’s officiating decisions were overwhelmingly against us. The situation with the disallowed goal due to offside, and then another instance in the first half where the assistant referee flagged Jarrod Bowen for offside, which was incorrect upon review.
“The protocol suggests the flag should only be raised once an offside decision is clear. That protocol wasn’t followed, and Bowen was, in fact, onside. Moreover, there was the incident where Sander Berge seemingly handled the ball. Several decisions today seemed to disadvantage us significantly.”
Ings, entering as a late substitute, made a notable impact by scoring the crucial equalizing goal and striking the crossbar, marking a standout performance despite the controversies.
Burnley, entering the game as the bottom team in the Premier League and amidst a scoring drought, found themselves ahead by two goals by halftime thanks to David Datro Fofana’s strike and an own goal from Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Following a Europa League defeat to Freiburg, West Ham’s first-half performance was underwhelming. However, spurred by a goal from Lucas Paqueta and Ings’ dramatic late equalizer, they managed to claw back to a draw.
Moyes reflected on the game, saying, “Today, the fine details did not favor us. This doesn’t excuse our first-half performance, but I must commend the players for their resilience and turnaround in the second half.”
Despite escaping the bottom position, Burnley remains in a precarious position in the fight for Premier League survival.
Vincent Kompany, Burnley’s manager, shared his mixed feelings about the game’s outcome. “The timing of West Ham’s goals brought frustration, occurring shortly after the second half began and then again towards the end. The game was characterized by physical challenges and our capacity to halt their attacks, and I saw positives in our performance. The team’s fighting spirit was evident, and it’s this spirit I want to carry forward into our next matches.”
