Xabi Alonso has hinted that David Moyes’ furious refereeing comments led to the ugly brawl between both benches on Thursday night.
West Ham and Bayer Leverkusen went head-to-head in their decisive Europa League clash at the London Stadium. There was a flair-up between both technical areas during the first-half.
West Ham assistant coach Billy McKinlay and Leverkusen coach Sebastian Parrilla were both sent off by the referee for the furious scenes. Neither Alonso nor Moyes were involved in the bust-up, but the Bayer Leverkusen boss has hinted that the West Ham man could be to blame.
Asked if Moyes’ outspoken comments about the referee in the first-leg could have contributed, the Spaniard replied: “I would not say no.” Moyes was left furious with the officials after the Hammers' 2-0 defeat in Leverkusen.
He slammed the decision to book Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta - leading to a suspension for the return leg. Speaking a week ago, Moyes said: “He [Paqueta] will be a huge miss but I thought their bench was a disgrace.
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“He [the referee] got surrounded. I thought it was disgraceful and was really disappointing. You should let the referee make the decision and not the way they reacted to the incident.
“I thought it was a rule all the way through. We would not all run off and surround him. It was a poor thing for them to do and they are a good side and they didn’t need to react like that."
Billy McKinlay was sent off after clashing with the Leverkusen bench (PA)Should West Ham keep David Moyes? Share your thoughts in the comments below
Alonso reacted to those comments shortly after and claimed Paqueta was fully deserving of his booking. He said: "Oh no, I think it was a tackle that deserved a yellow card. It was fully deserved. I think David's talking with the fourth official a lot of times, we all do, I do as well.
"It's nothing to talk about disgraceful. I think that we have all the right, he has to see his bench as well. I have respect for David but I thought it was the right decision from the referee. We did our thing, we didn't focus on the other bench."
West Ham secured a respectable 1-1 draw with Leverkusen in the second-leg. Michail Antonio and Jeremie Frimpong exchanged strikes.
Antonio slammed the refereeing during the game once again. Speaking after the full-time whistle, he said: “It doesn’t feel like you’re playing against 11 men, it feels like you’re playing against 14 including the two linos. It’s just one of those things where you have to keep pushing, make decisions go your way and remain professional.”
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