Season › 2011-12 › News

Red card still a very sore point

David Moyes has stressed that no amount of support for his view that Martin Atkinson got it wrong when showing Jack Rodwell a straight red after Luis Suarez's playacting will make up for the referee's atrocious decision, which ruined the Goodison derby a fortnight ago.

"It is pleasing and it was correct — the right decision was made (by the FA)," Moyes said about the red card being rescinded, but he warned that the amount of focus on the referee's performance in the wake of the derby controversy is in danger of damaging the Premier League's image abroad.

"We've tried to move on from it but obviously it is still very much on our mind, Moyes said. "We have been told that the image of the game is vitally important to the Premier League... I think at the moment it is close to the referees' decisions giving the Premier League a difficult image.

"Ever since the derby, the only thing that people have talked about is the referee. I find that quite incredible. "It was a big derby game and we wanted to try to win it if we could but that was hindered. The hardest thing is that every single person I meet in the street comes up and says 'it was the worst decision I've ever seen'."

"The image of the game is being enhanced by the footballers in this country and by the levels of the managers. I am not convinced that it is being enhanced by the performance of the match officials at this present time."

Moyes claimed to be unmoved by the lack of an apology from Atkinson for Rodwell's sending off. "I won't be calling Mike Riley [the head of referees] in here and having a meeting with him, but I have always said good men do the right thing."

[Additional quotes sourced from The Guardian]

Quotes or other material sourced from Setanta Sports

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