David Moyes could find himself in hot water with the FA after accusing the VAR during Wednesday night’s defeat by Liverpool of lacking “football knowledge” and disrespecting his West Ham side.
Moyes was left furious at the decision not to award the home side a penalty late in the 2-1 loss, after the ball had struck Liverpool substitute Thiago Alcantara’s arm as he slid to challenge Danny Ings.
The Scot and his coaching staff were animated in their touchline protests and several players took grievance with referee Chris Kavanagh at full time, but Neil Swarbrick on VAR did not deem the incident worthy of a pitchside review.
“I think it’s a penalty kick,” Moyes said. “I think the hardest thing to take is the disrespect from VAR, that VAR wouldn’t have at least said to the referee that this might be worth having a look. That tells me they don’t see that as even close to a decision. I’m surprised.
“Somebody in VAR didn’t have enough football knowledge to understand that this could be close.”
It is understood that the VAR felt the positioning of Thiago’s arm was necessary to break his fall, with the proximity of the Reds midfielder to Ings another factor in the decision not to ask Kavanagh to review the incident.
The FA are understood to now be seeking Moyes’s observations to decide whether his comments constitute improper conduct.
Meanwhile, winger Jarrod Bowen - who had a goal disallowed by VAR for offside shortly before Joel Matip’s winner - admitted afterwards that players have effectively lost track of the handball law after a number of modifications in recent years.
“That’s the problem,” the England international said. “When it hits someone’s hand now you just expect that it’s going to be handball.
“The rules have changed so much, you never know where you can put your hands in the box, you never know when you’re trying to block a cross, if your arm is two centimetres away from your body, is it going to be a penalty?
“I thought his arm was out and the ball hit his arm. It may look soft but if we’re going off the rules and what they say they give penalties for they have to be consistent with it.”
