"Hardest thing to take is the disrespect from VAR" - David Moyes fumes over incident in West Ham's 2-1 defeat to Liverpool

West Ham United manager David Moyes has expressed his anger after match official Chris Kavanagh denied his team a late penalty in Wednesday’s (April 26) defeat to Liverpool.

Liverpool secured a narrow 2-1 victory over West Ham United in their Premier League meeting at the London Stadium on Wednesday night. Holding on to their slender one-goal lead, Jurgen Klopp’s side endured a nervy moment in the 88th minute.

Declan Rice tried to find Danny Ings inside the Reds’ box. Thiago Alcantara intercepted the pass but the ball bounced up onto his arms during a challenge with Ings.

The Spaniard eventually cleared the ball out of harm’s way, with the West Ham players, along with their manager and fans, fervently appealing for a penalty. The referee, as well as the VAR, waved the appeal off, encouraging the teams to play on.

In his post-match interview on BT Sport, Moyes insisted that it was a blatant penalty. He said:

“It’s a penalty kick. The player lunges in the box which is different from a slip or trying to break your fall.

“When you’re lunging in the box and you know your arm is out, it’s a penalty kick, yeah.”

He later hinted that the Merseysiders would have been awarded a penalty if they had been denied in such a manner at Anfield. He quizzed a reporter:

“Do you think that would have been given at Anfield, what do you think?”

The former Manchester United manager further claimed that he felt disrespected by the VAR for not nudging Kavanagh to take a second look.

Moyes concluded by saying:

“The hardest thing to take is the disrespect from VAR, that VAR wouldn’t have at least said to the referee, ‘this might be worth having a look’.”

The defeat at home ended the Hammers’ three-game unbeaten run in the Premier League. They currently find themselves in 14th place in the league standings, only five points clear of the drop zone.

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Liverpool defenders show their adventurous side in hard-fought victory over West Ham United

Liverpool endured a sub-par start against West Ham United at the London Stadium on Wednesday night, going behind after only 12 minutes of play.

Lucas Paqueta and Michail Antonio effortlessly combined, with the latter perfectly laying the ball off for the former. Paqueta confidently put the ball away from close range to give the hosts the lead.

Liverpool responded only six minutes later, courtesy of Cody Gakpo’s clinical strike. Playing in midfield, right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold played the ball in space for Gakpo. The Dutchman chased it down and applied a sumptuous finish to find the bottom corner.

Liverpool’s winner arrived in the 67th minute, with left-back Andrew Robertson assisting centre-back Joel Matip from a corner. The Scot delivered a peach of a curler for Matip to attack at the near post, and the Cameroonian made no mistake with his header.